Garden in a mess, terrible soil. Help please.

flis21

Hi All,

I am completely new to gardening. Really want to sort our garden out this year though, it is a right mess, covered in weeds and a bit of old tree and what I think might have been a composter (looks like some sort of green box covered in ivy!). The soil is a right state, I've just tried digging some of it over and it is very clay like with lots of stones in it and full of weed roots. It is also very sodden and I know it doesn't drain well as the end of the garden is very bog like with standing water. Can people give me ideas on how best to tackle the garden, what to do with the soil etc. to sort the problems out. I would like to grow a few veggies and maybe even some flowers / bushes out there to make it look nice.

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Flis

PatsyMcM

It'll be work but rake all the rocks and roots out. Use a power tiller to loosen everything.

Work in a lot of organic matter like compost or peat.

add fertilizer too.

This may take a while but it can be done.

Coz800

To improve the soil quality add large amounts of horse manure or mushroom compost.

flis21

Can you hire 'power tillers' or do I need to buy one? (Have no idea what it is btw, just off too google it...!!)

kippers

If it's very 'bog like' then you may have a problem that needs special drainage channels put in. However, before this you need to check if it's just a compaction problem by 'double-digging'. If you google 'double digging' it will tell you how to do this but i warn you it's hard work. Also incorporate lots and lots of humus eg compost, leaf mould, manure etc. If it's still not draining then you may have a problem as i said previously.

The rest of the garden will need digging and all weeds removing and again loads of humus digging in.

Your soil will improve over time but if it's heavy clay it will be hard work. However clay soil does have an advantage of 'locking in' nutrients which is good for the plants.

amcluesent

>The soil is a right state, I've just tried digging some of it over and it is very clay like with lots of stones in it and full of weed roots.<

Raised beds? If you do a couple, then at least you'll get some plants in and be encouraged to tackle the rest of the garden.

tomterm8

I would not advise a tiller machine where you have a lot of tree roots, you'll break it. I guess a fork is your best option. Frankly, I generally think for a first dig a fork is the best option anyway - once you've cleared it, you can use a tiller the next year(s). But you need to get as much of the weed root gone as possible. Otherwise, a tiller just distributes weed roots throughout your garden.

Double digging or raised beds are probably the best solution to your problem, and I would suggest getting the smallest fork you can, and digging for an hour or so a day, rather than going pell mell and nackering yourself out.