Clay With Hardly Any Topsoil

Question

We live in Lancashire in an 8-yr old house. Our garden is just a mound of clay with less than a spade’s depth of topsoil built up by three layers of turf, installed by the builders in a hot summer which killed the first two layers due to lack of watering. We are trying to landscape the garden this year and establish some planting areas. I heard on Gardener’s question time that the best thing to do was to cover the required area with a foot of manure and cover it with plastic sheeting and leave it for a year. I’m not sure if I’ve remembered this correctly. Have I got this correct?

Answer 1

Not too sure on that myself, but amending the soil is definitely in order. These articles will help with that: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/how-to-improve-clay-soil.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/compost-for-organic-gardens.htm