New to gardening
 

Hallo, my name is Mark, I live in Ipswich. So far my gardening experience is confined to growing a few salad veg in containers, but I hope to try something a little more adventurous next year (landlord permitting); if this comes together I'm going to have a lot of questions about growing organic vegetabes, I hope this is the best place to post them.

This the first one: My landlord is proposing to build a large brick shed in the garden. Digging the foundation trench will produce 2-3 cubic meters of subsoil which will need to be disposed of. I may be able to re-use some of it in the garden, but if not, what is the best, and most environmentally responsible, way to get rid of it?

Regards

Mark

In article , MarkA MarkA.1tt6we@garden
banter.co.uk writes

Hallo, my name is Mark, I live in Ipswich. So far my gardening
experience is confined to growing a few salad veg in containers, but I
hope to try something a little more adventurous next year (landlord
permitting); if this comes together I'm going to have a lot of
questions about growing organic vegetabes, I hope this is the best
place to post them.

This the first one: My landlord is proposing to build a large brick
shed in the garden. Digging the foundation trench will produce 2-3
cubic meters of subsoil which will need to be disposed of. I may be
able to re-use some of it in the garden, but if not, what is the best,
and most environmentally responsible, way to get rid of it?

If you use it in the garden, take off the top soil and replace it on top
of the subsoil. Otherwise it'll take a few years to bring the subsoil up
to the same humus levels of the top soil for good growing conditions.
Alternatively, spread it about 6 inches thick and grow a wildflower
'meadow' on it ;-) - don't know whether this would work, but in high
nutrient conditions the grasses out-compete the wildflowers.
Your local council recycling centre may have a skip specifically for
subsoil
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Hi, thanks for that, Kay.
Actually, I had a wildflower meadow in mind as a possible use, subject to convincing my landlord that "wildflower meadow" doesn't mean "untamed wilderness"! I'll look into the council option.

Cheers
Mark

In article , MarkA MarkA.1tv1ke@garden
banter.co.uk writes

Hi, thanks for that, Kay.
Actually, I had a wildflower meadow in mind as a possible use, subject
to convincing my landlord that "wildflower meadow" doesn't mean
"untamed wilderness"! I'll look into the council option.

Try talking about 'native plants' and 'endangered in the wild', and
print out some internet pics of field geranium, corncockle and the like
;-)

Remember too that primroses, cornflowers, cowslips, lily of the valley
are all native
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

[/i][/color]
Try talking about 'native plants' and 'endangered in the wild', and
print out some internet pics of field geranium, corncockle and the like
;-)


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"[/quote]

Good thought Kay, but such matters are meaningless to my landlord - he's a decent bloke, but so un-green he's turning orange. Bearing in mind that this would be a temporary measure in the interval between building said shed and a more extensive re-modelling of the (small) garden in a couple of years time, and I hope to combine it with a raised bed for salad veg., my arguments would be entirely economic, i.e. it's cheaper to re-use the subsoil than hiring a skip to cart it away, it's cheaper to sow a WF meadow than pave the whole area, and it's cheaper than any other option because I'd do the work and pay for the seed!

Mark