Quote:
Originally Posted by nb-
Hi,
I have just had my garden landscaped (removing a massive terrace full of rubble), however its now down to faintly yellow looking clay, all the black soil on top has gone. It reminds me of the stuff I used at school to make pots out of!
Having read about how to improve the soil to make it suitable for lawn/veg/flowers, the answer appears to be I need to add a lot of organic matter to it, and not work it when wet! (?)
I am new to gardening, and am now confused about the various types of compost available, and what is best to use;
Organic Compost (Screened to 10mm/20mm)
"Compost"
Soil Conditioner
Well Rotted Farm Yard Manure
Various ground up bark/wood products some of which seem to be marketed as peat replacement.
Any help and advice would be appreciated.
(Also if anyone knows a good cheap supplier for these things as I think I need a lorry load!) |
Whatever your soil type, organic matter (such as homemade compost and leafmould) should be added regularly to improve structure and nutrient content. Organic matter acts as a soil conditioner. It helps to break up heavy clay soils (improving drainage) or it binds together sandy soil (improving retention of water and nutrients). If added once a year, organic matter will improve your soil and overcome any problems associated with texture. Adding organic matter can also slightly lower the pH of the soil (see below) to a level perfect for most vegetables. [Please note: Although manure is commonly recommended for soil-improvement, you need to be aware of a number of issues when using it - please see our GrowBlog article: The Problem with Manure for details.]