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Flower bed digging

alexander.wadealexander.wade Posts: 39
in Problem solving
Hello all, apologies if this is the wrong sections for this! 

I decided, somewhat foolishly it may be nice to have a flowerbed at the front of the house! Roughly 3m x 80cm. 

I removed the turf ok and discover the first 10 cm is nearly pure thick clay followed by a layer of hardcore!

I have spent the weekend digging out the clay(as much as possible) breaking up what I can and removing all big bits of hardcore. Not being as sprightly as I was in feeling very sore now after 4 trips to the tips carrying back and forth all the heavy clay/rubble. 

My question is what is the best way to go now?mix in compost and hope that improves what is left there? Is what I’ve done sufficient about 10 cm down? It’s fairly loose now and all big rocks are gone. Please see photos below, the first is what I was dealing with and the other are now, will this be ok? The second is just a close up!






Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Hi @alexander.wade - unfortunately, the best way method to amend clay is to add loads of organic matter, but you then have to wait a little while to do it's thing before planting, and I expect you want to get on with that soon  :)
    It doesn't look too bad though, and if you add plenty of organic matter now - rotted manure/compost, it should be ok. It also depends what you intend planting, and if you're doing it soon.  A house wall can often be quite dry, so you'd need to be vigilant with watering until plants are well established, even if the bed is in the path of the prevailing weather.  Shrubs, in particular, need plenty.
    It also depends on just how wet your climate is in your area   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Jenny_AsterJenny_Aster Posts: 945
    Think I'd throw a few bags of bought compost on there (2"/3" think) and then plant up the bed with bedding plants, worms will do most of 'mixing in' the compost' for you. Keep topping up with more compost as necessary. Also the plants you'll be planting will also provide compost. Then in the autumn add lots of organic matter as @Fairygirl suggests.
    Trying to be the person my dog thinks I am! 

    Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
  • alexander.wadealexander.wade Posts: 39
    Thanks for the suggestions, I have added in some organic compost above the clay layer i dug down to and then added some multipurpose compost on top to fill the bed. Hopefully it works!
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