Jeana:
Is the soil very wet, if so build raised beds, one at a time make them 10 ft x 4 ft. If you want to try just one bed I suggest either Potatoes or salad crops, easy to grow good returns.
Ok, you can use mushroom compost which will give you a boost for things such as peas, bean, and fruits, you can grow good brassicas and onions too but they may flower quickly.
Manure if you live in the country and there is some horse manure offered for free on site, your own compost if you have a compost heap, or if not doing raised beds peatmoss, will help with the soil condition. Do not use sand, clay has a lot of sand in it and its a mistake to add more.
This coming autumn get some manure or use your own compost heap even if not fully matured and chopped straw from your local animal feed supplier. €3.00 a large bag - that would bed 4 goat pens 6 x 5. This will rot through out the winter and add roughage to the soil, aid drainage and lighten the soil.
In raised beds for emegency use try to every large bag of moss peat ( or potting compost whicher is the cheaper) 1 bag of farmyard manure - to be got from your garden centre. Add some hoof and horn a little fishmeal and blood and organic growmore this lot is ok for use straight away, but will be excellent soil in about 3 years. Put this on clay and the worms will work the lot through the clay and give you a really good loam soil - this is how I work. Also its weed free which goes in with my no dig policy. Nothing though works as well as animal manure.
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Originally Posted by ark
hi to all veggie growers.
This is my first year at trying to grow veggies.I have just completed building my first raised plot.Its 9ft by 3ft.I was wondering if old musheroom compos would be ok to use as a fertilizer if it was mixed through the clay.I will probley try carrotts,onions,scallions,lettuce,strawberries and a small amount of potatoes.Im after getting so much infomation of the forum I look forward to reading every day
thanks everybody
ark
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Yep mushroom compost see above. Cover your carrotts against root fly, the rest looks sound. strawberries dont crop really well until their second year but give you some to browse on :)