Sheralynne;922255 Wrote:
> Hey there guys,
> I am hoping someone can give me a bit of advice on very dry soil. We
> have just moved into a rented accomodation with a garden, which I've
> always wanted.
>
> When we moved in, it was overgrown with shrubs and weeds and have taken
> most of them out now leaving just a few tall shrubs and trailing roses.
>
> Now, the problem is, before I plant any new shrubs and border plants, I
> want to make sure the soil is okay to plant in. As it was so
> neglected, there are many hard roots left in the soil from, what I call
> 'cauliflour shrubs' - the leaves looked like cauliflour leaves, it also
> has glass and stones in it like all other neglected gardens.
> The soil is very dry and clumpy and I'm unsure how to rectify it.
> I was thinking about just throwing compost on top of it and throwing in
> the plant food pellets, but I wanted most of the stones/glass out before
> I did that, or would it just be easier to take off the top layer (with
> all the rubbish on it) THEN put compost down... any cheap fixes out
> there? As the title says, I'm new to gardening but really want the
> beds to be the best they can before I spend loads of money on plants.
>
> Any advice would be absolutely wonderful :)
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Sheralynne
Hi Sheralynne, Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but no, there are no
quick fixes, gardening, like most things worth doing, gives back in
direct proportion to the effort put in. No effort = poor results ?
Obviously as its a rented property you wont want to be spending a
fortune but heres your biggest problem ! As its been neglected and
overgrown, the soil will be very dirty (full of weed seeds) and as soon
as you get a shower of rain, up they will come in thier thousands ? so
heres what to do, try where possible to dig over as much of the ground
as possible, this will bury most of this 'dirty soil', most weed seeds
germinate only in the very top layer of soil ! While digging, take out
any roots you see and any perennial weeds. Now you can plant, using
compost around each plant and if you really want to do a first class
job, when planted, mulch with any organic matter, this will do two
things, firstly, conserve moisture in your stony soil but equally as
important, it will prevent alot of these weeds germinating. It also in
my opinion, makes the plants look nicer !
Im not sure what your thinking of planting but try to think in
groups, using shrubs with evergreen different coloured foliage (which
you will have year round) and treat flowers as a bonus. Add small groups
of perennials like Heuchera, Salvia, Argyranthemum etc to give a blast
of summer colour. Personally I like to use 3/4 of the area in shrubs and
only 1/4 perennials, that way you get maximum effect for minimum
effort.
Best of luck, Lannerman
--
lannerman
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> I am hoping someone can give me a bit of advice on very dry soil. We
> have just moved into a rented accomodation with a garden, which I've
> always wanted.
>
> When we moved in, it was overgrown with shrubs and weeds and have taken
> most of them out now leaving just a few tall shrubs and trailing roses.
>
> Now, the problem is, before I plant any new shrubs and border plants, I
> want to make sure the soil is okay to plant in. As it was so
> neglected, there are many hard roots left in the soil from, what I call
> 'cauliflour shrubs' - the leaves looked like cauliflour leaves, it also
> has glass and stones in it like all other neglected gardens.
> The soil is very dry and clumpy and I'm unsure how to rectify it.
> I was thinking about just throwing compost on top of it and throwing in
> the plant food pellets, but I wanted most of the stones/glass out before
> I did that, or would it just be easier to take off the top layer (with
> all the rubbish on it) THEN put compost down... any cheap fixes out
> there? As the title says, I'm new to gardening but really want the
> beds to be the best they can before I spend loads of money on plants.
>
> Any advice would be absolutely wonderful :)
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Sheralynne