When to plant on bad ground?

[mithril]

Well I say bad ground, it's an area on my allotment that I think had a car burnt out on it at some point in the past. It's a fairly contained area (even after ploughing and rotavating!) the reason I think it was a car is the various metal parts that I've found include bonnet clips and light glass (too much for it to have been a bike).
So I'm happy to leave that area for now but how long do you think it should be left for or should I just put some flowers on it? (Non-edible.)
All idea's welcome!!
mithril.

[Jack]

Gidday

Well if you could do with the space I reckon you could use it anytime by straw bale gardening on it.

[Welsh Girls Allotment]

You could construct a raised bed if you were concerned about gunk in the soil, with a layer of heavy duty sheeting to prevent any leaching or maybe a flower corner to try and attract bees etc nature will eventually reclaim her own but it will probably take time

[mithril]

Not even considered that! Just looked at some info online, looks interesting but the plot is huge so it wouldn't really matter if it was left for flowers and I know they'd help with pollenation. (Plot is approx 13 metres wide by 57 metres long so definately not a small one!)
mithril.

[Andy Hamilton]

wild flowers actually prefer bad soil. So it is ideal to plant some in there.

[Cheezy]

What about planting an orchard.
Several variety of old fashioned fruit trees will take many years to grow before they eventually fruit. You could buy very young (and cheaper) stock, which most people will avoid because they want instant produce.

At least you know while you are waiting for the land to clean itself your getting ready a crop. You could leave the grass/wild plants in between the trees (although not around the base) So you will have a wild life garden.

Trees like Walnuts can take many years to fruit, mulburry bushes, pears, apples,plums, medlars,etc.

Having said all that I wouldn't worry too much about the land. Nature has a way of healing itself, and this sounds like a one off incident. If you think that an organic soil association farm only has to keep off the fertilisers/pesticides etc for 3 years, when it could have been intensively farmed for over 40 years, it shows the power of recouperation.

[Cassiepod]

I'm no expert by a long way but it might be worht a bit of googling on bioremediation - where you use plants to pull contaminants out of hte soil. Some plants take up the naties from the soil and store the contaminants in their foliage, you can remove the foliage and be left with a clean plot.

The reason I mention it is not so much that you might want to do this, but it would be worth being aware of any plants that might accumulate toxins and where in their system they would accumulate so that you can avoid having them in that area.

It's a fascinating subject and if I wasn't in the job I'm in now, I might well have followed this one up further as a career option...

[Rohen]

You could always plant comfrey and discard it as the tap roots draw everything out of the soil

[mithril]

I must admit I was wondering about comfrey and some wild poppy seeds from my garden to start with to see if they'd help fill in the area. It's right by the plum trees that are there (the one closest looks like it might be dead anyway) and then see what else I can plant in there later.
Of course comfrey has so many other advantages that go with it so it is being very seriously considered at the moment.
Thanks guys!
mithril.

[ina]

Or try green manure like phacelia and buckwheat - at least you'd be attracting masses of beneficial insects that way! And it looks pretty, too.

[longstonelodge]

Or try green manure like phacelia and buckwheat - at least you'd be attracting masses of beneficial insects that way! And it looks pretty, too.

A car should not contaminate the soil for very long as any fluids such as oil ect will reach the water table and eventually get washed away, use lots of farmyard dung to enrich the soil, don't double dig though!

[fenwoman]

Well I say bad ground, it's an area on my allotment that I think had a car burnt out on it at some point in the past. It's a fairly contained area (even after ploughing and rotavating!) the reason I think it was a car is the various metal parts that I've found include bonnet clips and light glass (too much for it to have been a bike).
So I'm happy to leave that area for now but how long do you think it should be left for or should I just put some flowers on it? (Non-edible.)
All idea's welcome!!
mithril.

make a raisded bed and fill with good soil or compost.