Starting from scratch
barrett.jen01
Posts: 2
we moved into our house just over a year ago and have finally got round to tackling the mess that was the front garden. We inherited a mass of ivy, fennel and overgrown brambles and weeds which we have dug up, pulled out and decided to start from scratch in making it a low maintenance heather garden. (We are new to gardening but are keen to get started)
We are left with a South Easterly facing slope, acidic soil, lots of old roots and plenty of large stones in the ground as well as what appears to be rotten weed membrane on top of old pea shingle at the very front. Although it looks a mess it is still a vast improvement on the dumping ground that we had before we started clearing the site but I'd really like some advice on getting the ground right for future gardening goodness.
A farmer friend has offered us some rotted manure he doesn't need, but I wondered whether adding a new weed membrane and top soil would also help to keep the site healthier long term?
It almost feels like we've stripped the ground too far back to get rid of the stuff we didn't want and need to put some life back into it.
Any suggestions on how to get the ground right for future growth of heathers would be very helpful. I know that they are hardy plants and some are very versatile when it comes to soil types but the area is very large and eventually we'd like to add more ground coverage plants such as creeping thyme etc.
Thanks in advance
Posts
If you are wishing to have creeping plants I'm not sure about putting down a new weed membrane. It sounds as if you have done most of the heavy work so topsoil worked into what you already have is a good idea. You could also incorporate the well rotted manure from your friend - but make sure it is well rotted. The pea shingle depnding on size would also be useful in opening up the soil (again depending on what your soil type is) as heathers are happy in a free draining soil.
But be careful if you buy in topsoil. You'll need to maintain your acid soil if you want summer-flowering heathers, so you don't want to add rubbish. Heathers are actually happy in pretty poor, low-nutrient soil, as long as it drains ok in the top few inches where their roots are, though they do like a high organic content - hence wild summer-flowering heather grows on peat. The RHS recommends adding composted bark, composted pine needles or leaf mould for summer-flowering heathers, and says compost or well-rotted manure can be incorporated for the winter-flowering sort. In the bad old days we'd have used bales of peat for this, but it's no longer ecologically acceptable, of course. However, if you're rich, or have a particular lime-hating plant you want to cosset, look for "Moorland Gold" peat, produced by West Riding Organics (near me). It's peat which is washed by streams into Pennine reservoirs, ending up in the filters, and is therefore a waste product. It's stocked by the Organic Gardening catalogue, and sold in various garden centres (WRO website has a list).
I agree with LB about the weed membrane. Maybe mulching after planting, with bark or gravel, would keep down the weeds until the plants get big enough to cover the ground.
Please avoid membrane.
A good thick mulch and let the worms work the goodness down into the soil.
Wonderful, thank you all. I'll definitely be avoiding the membrane then.
We were advised that the best top soil was ph 6.5-7 as most plants can grow in this, but I agree, Lirio, that I need to retain as much of the acidity as possible for heathers. Perhaps we should reduce the amount of top soil we get in and go heavier on the rotted manure and then mulch after planting.
I shall keep researching heather types then but this helps enormously, thank you very much