To break up the soil what can you use

You can buy sand from a landscaping supplier, this is sand that does not have any building waste in it, depending on how large your allotment is, you may want to get it delivered, or you can buy gardeners sand from a garden centre in bags usually 25ltr size. You should also dig in some horticultural grit which has been washed, this can also be found at the same places. When you have done this and your soil is more workable, give it a good rake to remove the large stones. You can dig in compost, bonemeal/blood fish and bone, or you can sow green manure which is a much cheaper practical solution, look at this website for more information about green manure as it needs a bit of explanation

http://soilmates.blogspot.com/2008/09/green-manure-can-save-you-fortune-on.html

id get sharp sand in bags from focus no disrespect andrea it always works for ma and it has no obvious impuritese.i know this as im a sculpter

The sand to avoid is builders' sand as it may well contain salt which would be fatal to plants.

Good time to dig it over and let the frost deal with it. The cold spell at the moment is ideal to break up the heavy clods.

If the soil is clay, don't add sand or you'll end up with concrete. The best thing for clay is lots of organic matter.

Sorry Gilli. I disagree. Sharp sand and grit will break it up. No harm in adding compost and/or well rotted manure though. It will help. Digging it over now as T&T says is extremely sensible too.

John.

you could rent a rotivater to save ya back

Make sure if you do rent a rotivator that it is actually a rotivator not a cultivator. A lot of hire companies assume that they are both the same, but the rotivator will dig a lot deeper than a cultivator. Not many Hire companies stock rotivators any more - this was from personal experience and it is really frustrating!

they dont realy care ive found as long as they get ya money