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Poor Soil
Meomye
Posts: 949
In the Spring I 'topped up' a couple of borders with bagged topsoil from the GC and later put in some bedding plants (Viola and Begonia). The soil is very compacted and contains several weeds and I feel my plants do not look happy or healthy 
Is there anything I can mix into the soil to loosen it up and help the plants. The Viola flowers seem particularly small and leggy to me.
thankyou
0
Posts
I would get a bag or two of 'soil conditioner' and mulch around the plants and 'tickle' it in with a hoe - that should help improve the soil.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I'd get a load of well rotted horse muck dug in or forked in if it's quite well planted already.
If you go to a riding centre they normally give it away if you just turn up and collect it.
I use 50% sharp sand mixed with 50% rotted horse manure to improve heavy clay soil. The horse manure being preferably hemp or wood pellet based. Straw-based manure needs to be 2yrs rotted minimum otherwise it is heavy and still has straw pieces in it, wood shavings take forever to rot too.
Once that's down then leaf mould added year on year in the autumn leaves a lovely light crumbly surface to the beds.