Reply To: New plot with hard pan… How to prepare quickly?

[Hawfinch]

Looks like quite some challenge you’ve got there, but I also think that the thick layer you are putting on top, close to 55 cm will soften the hard layer underneath. I’d definitely mulch on top of the soil even if there is a problem with slugs. Where I garden here in Switzerland slugs are also a real pest, but we get hot and dry summers and the top layer very quickly goes rock hard where it’s not covered, but stays moist and not so hard under the mulch. I find, that on balance mulch is better even if the slugs do hide under it. I look under it every so often and “take care” of the slugs I find with a pair of scissors. Slugs here will slither over almost anything, although I do find a lot less on the beds mulched with pine needles.