Exhausted soil

jillholt · June 2017

hi

we moved into this property 3 years ago to an overgrown terrace garden, 60 steps????So we are structurally changing vegetable bed and the soil is like sand , great for growing as borders are South facing but there is nothingin the soil to retain water. Looking at buying bags of manure from garden centre as we want to grow vegetables. I will be adding seaweed in September to winter the garden and feed. Anything else I could add? Will horder manure be too fresh to grow vegStables ? Jill ????

Last edited: 25 June 2017 23:30:44

Borderline · June 2017

Are you saying the current soil conditions are light and sandy? If so, compost and rotted manure are the first steps in helping the soil get more bulky. Soils cannot be improved suddenly so, if you start by the two and as you plant, keep putting new layers of either compost , rotted manure and mulch from bark chips , the soil will gradually change and hold more moisture. Horse manure if rotten down well will not cause problems with vegatable growing.

Clarington · June 2017

Well rotted horse manure is my go too for garden beds. Perhaps because around me it's usually available free! If you get fresh don't add it straight to the beds as I think it can burn the plants but instead throw it in a compost bin while it matures (well rotted manure is easy to spot; no smell to it).

Posy · June 2017

Basically, muck is the answer. Horse muck is best but farmyard manure, garden compost, bark chippings - anything organic and well rotted. Start your own compost heap, too. I wouldn't buy it in bags from a garden centre, I'd go for bulk loads from local stables and farms. Although it takes time to make perfect soil, you can achieve a great deal by digging in muck before you plant and mulching in Spring and Autumn.