Empty plot over the winter - to cover or not

Completely going off topic! Love that peach dahlia with the dark foliage ( bottom right on first photo)    .
Carry on, as you were   .

David Howard SC...I'll see if I can get a decent cutting for you next year

With you now Scarlet.  Sorry I got the wrong end of the stick in thinking you had one acre of Dahlias (eek)

As you were! 

My revised thinking is if you are digging clay soil as you take dahlias out I wouldn't bother covering it and let the frosts work on the clay?

Could you sow clover or camomile and once it spreads cut out your planting areas as required I think I understand your comment about saving your back, I hope that's one problem I miss when I get old

Another vote for phacelia!
I bung seeds down as I clear the ground in the autumn and it germinates pretty fast. If the winter is harsh it will die but still cover and protect the soil, if it is mild it'll be flowering by April if not before. And the plants are not too hard to lift and compost when the time comes.
Bees love it.
It is the only green manure I grow as it is easy going!

I've been rummaging in my seed box and found 2 types of Phacelia - Tanacetifolia and Campanularia. I'd heard of Tanacetifolia and think that is "The" one but Campanularia seems to have pretty blue flowers, grow to 30cms (not 90cm like T) and is also said to be Perfect for Pollinators and bee friendly.
In my usual random way I'm going to mix the 2 together, add a packet of Limnanthes and some old seeds of Bergamot (another bee plant) and some Antirrhinum because they're out, ready to sow - and scatter them all together in the garden.

https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-phacel.../p/0408965

I've been rummaging in my seed box and found 2 types of Phacelia - Tanacetifolia and Campanularia. I'd heard of Tanacetifolia and think that is "The" one but Campanularia seems to have pretty blue flowers, grow to 30cms (not 90cm like T) and is also said to be Perfect for Pollinators and bee friendly.
In my usual random way I'm going to mix the 2 together, add a packet of Limnanthes and some old seeds of Bergamot (another bee plant) and some Antirrhinum because they're out, ready to sow - and scatter them all together in the garden.

https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-phacel.../p/0408965

The campanula type are the ones I have ordered along with the Limanthes. An allotment full of blue and yellow is quite appealing.

Straw works well for us, but it does let a lot of slugs overwinter. We have quite a few hedgehogs that help out thank heavens.

I have a thing against dahlias. They are pretty and all that but I love a mix of wildflowers or a random bed. Its because my bil is super obsessive with them. Do you ever show Scarlett? He even bought his car by measuring for boot height for shows. He has 2 huge polytunnels, and 2 greenhouses full of Dahlias, and spends a huge amount of time getting them perfect. He even manages to successfully use hot boxes to heat one greenhouse. I have just begrudgingly let hubby grow some here, as worry he'll become just as obsessed

Straw works well for us, but it does let a lot of slugs overwinter. We have quite a few hedgehogs that help out thank heavens.

I bedded all my veg plot in straw one winter but found the ground really slow to warm up in the spring. So much so, that I ended up pulling back the straw to the edge of the beds for a few weeks before planting. Having said that, the soil underneath, though cold, was delicious!

Straw works well for us, but it does let a lot of slugs overwinter. We have quite a few hedgehogs that help out thank heavens.

I have a thing against dahlias. They are pretty and all that but I love a mix of wildflowers or a random bed. Its because my bil is super obsessive with them. Do you ever show Scarlett?  He even bought his car by measuring for boot height for shows. He has 2 huge polytunnels, and 2 greenhouses full of Dahlias, and spends a huge amount of time getting them perfect.  He even manages to successfully use hot boxes to heat one greenhouse.  I have just begrudgingly let hubby grow some here, as worry he'll become just as obsessed

No shows here, I just like growing and love flower arranging and as a picked flower there's not many that will beat them. I grow lots of wildflowers and I actually do mixed bed with dahlias, annuals and perennials. Though I do love dahlia only beds too - they flower all through October too when lots of other flowers have faded.