Soil Improvement stage 1

So, from concrete to loam ... ok here we go.

I needed a "quick fix" so I could transplant some of the plants rescued from my old house.

I tried digging this compacted clay/silt mix and couldn't get the spade in more than an inch or so.

This was when I decided to build a couple of raised beds for the annual vegetables.

I built up a couple of beds using railway sleepers, filled the bottom with tree prunings
including the big branches cut up. I then added weeds and grass clippings and filled with a mix of soil, compost, tree mulch and manure.

So the veg was ok but what about the fruit trees and other perennials?

Well I had to tackle those concrete beds along the fence.

So here's what I did...

The beds had been covered with weedmat but the weeds had grown up and through it so it had to be removed along with as much of the couch rhizomes I could manage to get.

I knew I couldn't dig the beds, as I actually bent my spade trying to get through that awful

compacted clay.

I tried wetting agent to see if it would help, after 4 applications, no noticeable difference.

Lets get tough with this thing!!

 I bought a mini mattock and started breaking up the top 6 inches of clay, removing a lot of the big chunks as I went.

Here's what the beds looked like after initial weeding:

Here's the soil below the weedmat . It shows the embedded couch runners and the compacted

clay soil:

So, I used the mattock to break up the top 6 inches or so, removing big chunks as I went.

Looks awful but it's way better than a solid clump.
Here's some of the stuff I removed:

Removing some big chunks lowered the soil level giving me plenty of room for the next stage.
Adding Organic Matter.

See next post for more.