On 07/05/2015 08:32, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:


I can confirm that building soil level around trees kills them and quite
quickly, I raised the level of the bottom of my garden by 3' and an existing
sweet chestnut died within a season, while all the shrubs loved being
buried.

Yes, but doing so over most of the root area of a tree is a far cry
from just putting a heap there, and 3' is a far cry from 4" (which
someone else mentioned).

I think you are right that the soil type makes a big difference too. I'd
expect a porous sandy soil to be a lot more forgiving.

I am on hard solid boulder clay that sets like a brick in summer and
waterlogs to anaerobic slime in winter unless you punch deep holes into
it. There was a clay pit that is now a fishing pond not so far away
where the clay bricks for building the village were excavated.

On the plus side the heavy clay soil is very fertile and close to
neutral pH but it is hell to work when too wet or too dry. Adding lots
of compost to the cultivated plots makes it more manageable.

Keeping moss out of the lawns is all but impossible.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown