Soil condition and preparation

There are quite a few large stumps on the property (11 in total) for which we used the services of a professional stump grinder to remove. This took 2 days. The stumps were first cut close to the ground using a massive chainsaw and then ground down to below ground level with a special grinding machine. The picture below shows just how large the stumps were! We could make some lovely furniture out of this beautiful timber! Sooj had already removed 17 stumps himself (using his chainsaw and a hired stump grinder).

Here are some of the stumps post-removal.

Last Friday I started the massive task of soil improvement on the property. The soil is silty clay and moderately acidic - my pH measurements ranged from 4.5 to 5.5. A low pH impedes the ability of plants to take up nutrients and so does the clay nature of the soil. Most fruit and vegie plants will be more productive with a slightly acidic soil (around pH 6.5). To help break up the clay I've added gypsum (I started with a rate of 0.5-1kg/m2, which I partly based on the geotechnical report recommendations and also from books) and to increase the pH I've used dolomitic limestone (roughly 0.2kg/m2 - this is probably a bit less than what's needed but I'll add more later if necessary). I had my first experience of driving a tractor and discovered that using the bucket (to transfer loads of soil etc) is actually quite difficult to coordinate (for me at least). It was quite hard to get a decent load size. We also really need to add lots of organic matter to the soil, which I've started in the form of some well-aged horse manure (combined with stable sawdust bedding) from a nearby horse stud. We need lots more organic material which is difficult as it's expensive (well compost is to buy and it takes time to make). We have started a compost heap but this will be a slowish process. However I also plan to plant a green manure crop which will help to improve the soil structure as well as adding nitrogen to the soil and helping to suppress the growth of weeds. I have some perennial ryegrass, oats and also various legume seeds (chickpea, lentils etc) which will be planted directly into the soil as a mix. I'm just waiting on some rain (or the forecast of rain) so the seeds will have a chance to germinate!