nala asks: need some information about patio gardening?
I have a flower bed that has not been used for a long time. I am starting to grow some plants. Can someone help me with some information. Do I need to dig up the soil, or should I just add new soil on top? I am new to all this and would like some kind soul to give me some advice.
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Answer by styrckt
mix in some good compost ,,,thats it
What do you think? Answer below!
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i would take half the soil out and replace with a good compost
with fertiliser in it and if it is a big patio go and have a walk round your local garden centre to see what to plant and when it flowers to try and get colour all the year round
Hi there Nala,
How great that you’ve decided to get growing in the garden. It seems like you’re taking a sensible place to start with just the one flower bed. It’s so easy to bite off more than you can chew and then get dis-heartened when it all starts to over-power you.
As for your flower bed, if it was mine, and it is a bit hard to say without seeing it and knowing what the soil is like, but personally, I would removed some of the soil and replace it with some compost. The reason for doing this is so that you have the best soils possible for planting your new flowers in.
If you have a clay soil where you are, this is a fantastic way of incorporating more fiber into the soil. This will help with drainage issues as well as providing more nutrition for the plants.
By improving the quality of the soil you are also making like easier for yourself. Not only will you get better results for your efforts, but any weeding, and future digging that you need to do will be so much easier in ground that doesn’t get baked solid.
Whether you remove and replace some of the soil or not, it will need a really good digging over. The soil will have become compacted over the unused years and the roots of your new flowers and plants will have a very tough time trying to get their roots down to find the water and nutrients that they need.
An alternative to all this digging is to perhaps build a raised flower bed over the existing one and fill it in with a good quality soil that you’ll be able to get from any good garden center. The materials you can make a raised garden bed from is only as limited as your budget, and there are umpteen ways to make the style of the raised bed fit in with what you already have going on in the garden.
I prefer a slightly rustic feel to my gardens, and my raised beds are made from scaffolding planks. Two planks high, makes them just the right height to perch on the edge to drink tea when I’m on a gardening break! I just love my raised beds. Everything seems so much easier, I can alter the soil to suit what I want to grow, if I want to plant acid loving plants for example I can mix in acidic compost for. Planting, harvesting, weeding- it’s all much less unpleasant when you don’t have to bend down so far. That and the dog can’t pee on it!
I hope this has given you some information that you can use, and good luck with the flower bed- you’ll love it, and it’s so easy to get really carried away with it all.