Darren

bergin.lim92996 · 26 February

I have moved into a house, but the garden has been covered by a weed mat and aggregates for many years. I am currently removing the mat and aggregates and digging 10 inches deep so I may create a wildlife/woodland garden but the soil is compacted and clay like and I’m guessing nutrient deficient. Replacing the soil will cost a bomb, can I mix the old compacted soil with some new soil and compost to support plant life, and control cost, or do I need to totally replace the old soil? I am new to gardening, always wanted one, any advise would be greatly appreciated.

greatnorthernexotic · 26 February

Replacing the soil wholesale would be astronomically expensive. Just add as much organic matter as you can get your hands on - even mulching deeply and letting the worms do the work in the medium to long term. It'll be a long process.

An alternative would be to create raised beds.

Johnjoe · 26 February

I had a similar start, my garden was covered in membrane then on top with lots of woodchips over that, I removed the membrane and found the soil was like potters clay. I just dug in as much topsoil and rotted horse manure as I could muster, all from the bog-standard Garden Centre and it made an almost immediate difference. Luckily my garden is quite small, and most of the wood chippings were well rotted down, so that helped too.

bergin.lim92996 · 26 February

Thanks , I have already broken my back digging, I was hoping to start planting this spring, guess I should let manure and compost do its work and wait until next year to plant. I was just hoping for a short cut solution

Johnjoe · 26 February

Must admit I didn't wait to get planting, once I'd dug everything through and the ground felt better in my hands I just got on with it, starting with borders first before seeding the lawn, but I suppose it depends where you live, and I'm certainly no expert gardener. I'm sure there are wiser heads on here who can help.

Pete.8 · 26 February

With plenty of organic matter added it will improve quickly.
If it's not ready for proper planting, then growing spuds for the first season is a great way to open up heavy soil.
Clay is the most nutritious of soils. The problem is all that goodness is trapped by the miniscule clay particles.
Once it starts to open up, all that goodness is available to plants.

The very best stuff to break up clay is composted bark fines.
I used it to break up clay footings when my house was extended.
I used a lot, then added rotted manure, but it turned thick clay into plantable soil in 6 months.

bergin.lim92996 · 26 February

Thank you, I may very well add plenty organic matter and plant soon, I guess if it doesn’t work it should be ready by next year anyway

SueAtoo · 26 February

Put a "wanted" on local freecycle and/or Facebook sites for compost or topsoil, often given away. I get free local horse or guinea pig manure in east dorset.

fidgetbones · 26 February

I get a tipper load of rotted farm yard and stable manure mixed, bought to me and tipped for 40 quid. On heavy clay I lay it six inch thick , and then rotovate in or plant through it. Try local stables or farmers for bulk loads.

Redwing · 26 February

greatnorthernexotic said:

Replacing the soil wholesale would be astronomically expensive. Just add as much organic matter as you can get your hands on - even mulching deeply and letting the worms do the work in the medium to long term. It'll be a long process.

An alternative would be to create raised beds.

This is the best advice. Heaps and heaps of compost and manure is the way to go.

Fairygirl · 27 February

I've done both methods - organic matter and raised beds. I was lucky to have a free supply of rotted manure as I worked with horses, but raised beds are ideal if you don't want to wait to get somehting in the garden. The drawback of raised beds is the cost of filling them, but that depends on the dimensions, what you want to grow, and also how your climate is for growing the plants you choose, because some material will be cheaper than others.

Well rotted, good quality, manure will alter soil sufficiently to allow planting in around 6 months, especially for shrubs and trees. Perhaps a bit longer if it's for flimsier perennials etc.

Darren

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