Good Morning! I am starting two new fairly large beds this Spring for a nice mix of roses, peonies, foxglove etc. I have heavy clay soil so I usually dig out and remove a good 10 inches of the soil and then fill back in with manure, compost, black dirt and some of the clay but I'm wondering, what do you all recommend? What fertilizers do you add to the soil at the start? Do you have a favorite soil amendment when starting from scratch? Thanks!
starting two new beds - what's your favorite soil mix?
I do not use chemical fertilizers. Instead, I prefer to use compost or manure. If I don't have any "homegrown" I will buy bagged. I then mix about 1/3 organic material, 1/3 original soil (which mine is sandy loam so not sure if I would use your clay at that amount) and 1/3 bagged quality garden soil or potting soil. The organic material could vary and might be up to 1/2 of the volume if the soil is really poor. Sometimes I will use my "old" worn out pine bark mulch as part of the mix also. Just whatever is on hand that needs to be used!
oh that's a good idea with the pine bark mulch - it would probably help with drainage on my clay soil too. I'm not sure how much of my clay to reuse - maybe your right - a little less than yours. I would really like to stay away from the chemicals also, it just seems like your stressing the plant for the short term and it probably leads to disease and pest problems later on? Thanks so much for the info, it gives me a great start!
I use composted leaves as a mulch. My plants love it. The only issue that I have with it is that I need to replace it every year (it takes 15 cu yards to mulch our whole property), so it's a lot of work, but I think it's well worth it. I've found the info in this guy's articles to be very useful . . .
http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=552
wow, 15 yards every year! As a person who's putting in 13 yards of soil into two new beds by the wheelbarrow full right now - I admire your determination!
Thank you for the link to that article, that was really interesting. I usually put down compost and then put wood mulch (at least it's not the dyed kind) over that. I'm going to rethink my strategy, I like the idea of just compost, also your leaves. Do you get all of your leaves from your own property? Do you like the look of the mulched leaves also? Thanks!
We have a lot of leaves. We shred them and then let them compost for a year before we put them on our beds, so by the time we use them, they look like black compost. However, we did use shredded leaves (not composted) 2 years ago in one of our beds, and it looked really nice. It was brown, and looked very natural. We don't have enough leaves for all of our beds, so we order it from a place that collects leaves from around the county, and then composts them.
We shred all our fallen tree leaves (mostly oak) and make a big pile in an out-of-the-way corner. We use shredded leaves as mulch, and also layer shredded leaves with garden waste & kitchen scraps in the compost piles. We put compost into every planting hole. After reading the Gardens Alive web page which is clickable above, I am wondering about using compost as mulch too. I always felt that I "should be" buying and using wood or bark chips as mulch, but the Gardens Alive article seems to indicate that shredded leaves and compost are superior to wood chip mulch.
One year, when we made a new garden, I did mulch with a product called "bark fines", ordered by the c.y. from a landscape supply company, I think it is a by-product of the lumber or paper industry, and I did know enough about soil to be pleased that it disappeared very quickly. I think the nurseries use bark fines as a soil amendment for potted plants.
Appreciate the link to Gardens Alive.
ella,
I switched from pine bark mulch to bagged compost last fall. Foremost, I observed that the price per bag was about $1.50 CHEAPER for the compost. So I started thinking....the pine bark mulch takes much longer to break down and contribute to the plants needs, whereas the compost is pretty much ready to contribute towards the overall richness of the soil. The pine bark washes off and floats away in torrential rains. The compost does not. I think the compost looks "almost" as good as the pine bark mulch. Still, the black pine bark mulch that is nonfading certainly does make the colors pop and it looks so professional. The compost kind of makes a crust on top that when really dried out, takes a bit for water to penetrate. Still, I think I am glad I switched to bagged compost....not just for cost (b/c I do buy a lot of it) but also for the way it can contribute to the soil quicker.
Mini Pony,
[You are like My Little Pony!]
How does the purchased compost compare to homemade? Seems hard to imagine compost would make a crust. But I have no experience using it on top.
Purchased compost can't compare to homemade. Because for obvious reasons anything homemade is better, richer, and more satisfying. If you have enough homemade compost, use it! I just got a shredder/chipper and although I don't have a lot of leaves, it will help me to make more compost quicker. Still, I will have to buy some in the bag.
I gather all my neighbors leaves. as the oaks defoliate in the spring. My neighbors robotically rake them up and get them off their property. they then go buy compost and fertilizer to enrich their soil and pesticides to deal w/ the problems their plants develop because they remove what makes them stronger. Go figure.
I am building 3 new raised beds over Florida grass (what we called crabgrass up north) and sand. I bought a potting soil made by a local nursery and cut it with a little black kow, mushroom compost and some vermicompost from my worm bin, and 50% compost from my pile. My compost pile is mostly leaves and coffee grounds as well as large volumes of produce remains. This year, I grew Crimson Clover from which I will gather the seeds for next years crop and pull up the plants and compost them in my pile for added nitrogen. I will also drench the beds w/ Myco-Grow to help establish the roots quickly.
One of my beds will be purposely nutrient deficient for those plants that won't bloom in rich soil. I've had trouble keeping some of these plants performing well when they are mixed in with all the others that get plenty of compost twice a year.
Maggie
peonyrosegirl,I live about 100 mi.east of you,on 30,so Iam assuming you have the same clay i have,I dug down,used peat,top soil,sand,manure,leaves,and compost,i really used alot of peat,when i didnt have manure i use an organic fertilizer made from bloodmeal,bonemeal,greensand,I use the fertilzier to plant with,and later to side dress all plants.goood luck.
Huggergirl - yes I think we have the same clay (yay). Although I have to say that right at this time of year (not to wet, not to dry) it's not terrible to dig. Another month and mine is like a rock. That's an awesome mix you did! Did you remove all the clay or did you keep most of it and just mix your amendments in? I dug down a spades depth and completely removed and then I used a mix from the local nursery of peat sand soil and mushroom compost then added manure. I ended up raising the bed about 10 - 13 in. plus the depth I dug out so it was alot of work but I'm hoping the plants will love it When I plant I usually mix back in about 1/3 to 1/2 of the clay soil to keep from making a clay "bowl" around the new soil but this time I felt like since it was a raised bed I'd be okay just completely removing the clay - not sure though. Sounds like everyone mixes in the leaves - is it okay if they're not broken down yet or do you let them sit a season?
I am not sure, but I think I vaguely remember readying many yrs ago that shredded leaves should stay on top as a mulch (where they will decay and be worked into the soil by worms), be used in a compost pile, or be allowed to decay, before being mixed into the soil. But I could be wrong.
peonyrosegirl,sounds like you dont really need to add leaves this year,but Iam sure alittle chopped dry leaves wont hurt the mix,If it will make you feel better, add a little,i mix in chopped dry leaves every spring and it seems to be fine.Dont over do it ! When I amended my lovely clay soil,I dug the clay out,then I would add,sand ,peat,dry chpd.leaves,some clay, top soil or what ever the pile of dirt we keep out back,and compost,I add and mix and add and mix,we always have a truck load of top soil out here,something always needs backfilled !! i used a lot of peat it really helps break down the clay,also as mulch i used hardwood it it breaks down quickly,I work it in to the soil,before i add more fresh mulch,about every 2-3 yrs, anyway I dont Cuss my clay anymore!!! Tamara
