[suziequeue]

We've decided to give our middle field over to horticultural pursuits. Prior to this it was pasture which hadn't been actively managed with ALOT of creeping buttercup (in fact - almost entirely creeping Bs) .  The soil is heavy clay and a soil analysis carried out about 18 months ago revealed - predictably - fairly acidic soil.

Last autumn we had the field ploughed over and we haven't been able to do anything else with it over the winter due to it being so wet :-(. Now the spring is here, we have managed to rotavate a patch and clear the worst of the rocks. We have marked out the beds - 1 metre wide - with 1 metre paths between.

My dilemma is - I would really like to take time to get the pH right, get some well rotted manure down, get the beds properly bordered and clear the first flush of weeds. Obviously that's going to take time since the manure and lime have to be separated by a few months etc etc

I would rather not plant anything this year and just keep the beds covered once we've cleared the weeds whilst we sort things out and plan our next move.......... but I feel guilty about not doing something with it now..... but we've got so much else going on........ but I feel guilty about not doing something about it now....... but but but.....

[deepinthewoods]

potatos!! theyll break up the clay a bit, suppress the weeds, and make things a bit easier for when your more ready.hth

[Red]

I had your problem a few years ago and potatoes are the way forward, also found turnips and sweed really easy and good for winter food!

[Possum]

What about sowing green manures such as field beans, grazing rye or phacelia? They are cheap, grow in all conditions and will help fertility and soil structure when you dig them in.

[Smalltime]

potatos!! theyll break up the clay a bit, suppress the weeds, and make things a bit easier for when your more ready.hth

I can only state on a much smaller scale the beds I have sorted had not been touched for three years at all and tbh they were in excellent condition, very few weeds or anything and we dug up quite a few potatoes when we got going so I think this is a good idea - but only from very limited experience.
Make haste not speed, you dont want to rush and mess it up. On the last Gardeners World the guy just turned the soil over and said he was going to leave it for about three weeks before planting, I think that was Rye but I am not sure. I am sure lots of people with more experience can help.