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Clay Subsoil

I've just bought my daughter an inground trampoline, which is great except for the huge hole I had to dig!!!. I have built a couple of raised beds as a way of getting rid of the soil, although the last one is simply slimy yellowy brown clay. Is there anything I can do it improve this and make it into good soil or am I going to have a bag it and take to the tip. Thanks Sharon

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,504

    It depends how much you've got and how much effort you want to put in. You need to add organic matter. Over the years I've improved mine with spent compost from containers, good stuff from the compost heap, grit and fertiliser

    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • CloggieCloggie Posts: 1,457

    or you can buy quite cheaply the council compost and mix that in/top it off with it.  I had a successful raised bed made entirely of that but I did sometimes dig up ring pulls or plant labels.

    I think arrangements are different for different councils. Here, if you take a bag and a shovel, it's yours.

    If your final raised bed is mostly sub-soil then I'd remove some and chuck it (green bin?) and top it off with the cheap council stuff.

    My solution for what it's worth. 

  • StevedaylillyStevedaylilly Posts: 1,102

    Grit and manure. Dig in in and let the worms do the rest

    Petsonally , I would not consider any council compost due to it not been checked for perennial weed seed ie: bineweed, horsetail etc 

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