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Hollow soil?

LavandeLavande Posts: 171
in Problem solving
This is the soil in a relatively new house (three years old) and the soil seems very strange with lots of hollow cracks. It is very hard in general. Could it just be because it has never been turned over or very dry or is it something more sinister? It's in a raised bed but I don't know the history of the soil or what was planted. There is very little in it just now apart from what looks like tubers or bulbs very close to the top. I'd be really grateful for any thoughts 🙁  
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Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Clay will do that in dry weather. That bulb looks like a bluebell to me.
    You need to dig in plenty of organic matter to improve the soil
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Clay which has never been improved by the look of it.
    Clay is heavy when wet, and cracks in long dry spells.  The best way to amend it is to keep adding organic matter regularly - well rotted manure, compost, leaf mould etc. That improves the soil structure over time - making it less likely to crack in dry spells, and open it up and improve drainage in wet weather.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    It's not all bad news though.  Clay soils are fertile, and many plants love them - roses in particular.  The cracks look horrible but @B3 and @Fairygirl are right; you can improve it by regularly adding organic matter, which you can buy at the garden centre or in bulk if you need a lot (and you can make your own compost too, which is free, of course).
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • LavandeLavande Posts: 171
    Thank you very much everyone for your replies. We really appreciate them. The fact that it is clay, dried and unimproved isn't the worst news at all then and even if it does require some extra hard work that's better than needing some expensive treatment. It's my son and daughter-in-law's new garden and I just couldn't give them any advice at all. They were quite worried and I've only ever seen wet soggy clay and just didn't recognise the soil type at all so am very happy to share this news with them.  They would love to put  roses there so can take your advice to prepare and improve the soil.
    Thanks again and thank you also for the bulb ID. 🌻
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    Just tell them not to dig a hole for the roses and then backfill with bagged compost.  This will cause a drain away in the clay when it's wet, and rot the roots.  Either improve a large area, like a long bed, or else build a few raised beds and plant into those (which is what I would do, because I am a lazy gardener).  
    Utah, USA.
  • Mrs-B3-Southampton,-HantsMrs-B3-Southampton,-Hants Posts: 732
    The question was about a raised bed but that does raise the issue of what the garden soil in general is like.
    Southampton 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    A load of organic matter put on in autumn will improve that no end over winter. As @Blue Onion says - just plonking plants in can be a waste of time and money as the ground can just be a sump over winter. 

    A raised bed will tend to dry out more quickly than a bed/border on the ground, but the easy, and best , way to sort it is loads of manure. There are also soil improvers available which help enormously. 6X is one. I used that in a previous garden where there had been little extra help re the soil, and it made a big difference in one season.
    No need to work too hard  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    There is actually a map you can look up online which tells you what type of soil  your particular area has. Can't remember the name of the site,you'll have to do a bit of googling.where abouts are you?
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Nanny Beach said:
    There is actually a map you can look up online which tells you what type of soil  your particular area has. Can't remember the name of the site,you'll have to do a bit of googling.where abouts are you?
    It's here - 
    http://www.landis.org.uk/soilscapes/

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    If it's not too big an area you could also try crushed gypsum,  sometimes sold as clay breaker, applied directly then mixed in if you can. Then mulch with manure or compost as suggested previously.  I say a small area as I think it would be expensive to treat a large area. 
    AB Still learning

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