Improving Dead Soil.

[gness]

I have skimmed off a fairly large area of lawn to make beds. The soil is, as you can imagine, very compacted and as its on a slope it's dry. The earth underneath, when exposed, becomes like blocks...erosion of the dusty soil I guess.
It's not red clay....that is quite deeper but the soil, even when dug over remains clumpy and looks dead.
I shall buy soil improver and later some good topsoil but do you have any hints on what else I can do to make the soil good?
I am hiring a young, fit lad to dig over tomorrow as it's almost beyond me but if I haven't lost half a stone today I'm giving up!

[shoota]

Best thing to do is to put some grass seed down and water it well....

[tonyav]

What time have you got to get up in the morning, gness ?.

[gness]

Lord.....some days you need a smacked bum, Shoota! x

[gness]

You too, Goatboy! x

[shoota]

G, I need one of those most days.
Please....

[gness]

Where's Psyb when you need her?

[coccinelle]

I improve my soil with leaf mulch every year this helps to prevent it from forming blocks and feeds it at the same time.

[tonyav]

You too, Goatboy! x

Oh well it's an improvement on Taff !.

[EDDIE51]

A few barrow loads of well rotted horse shi, sorry, manure is good.

[gness]

I shall do that Coccinelle....need to get it going this year....Can't have a garden with no plants. x

[woofgang]

compost! any kind or well rotted matter. When we moved into our house, it was just 2 years old and the previous owner had agoraphobia so apart from laying a lawn, nothing had been done to the garden and the soil was awful. We bought a load of spent mushroom compost and spread it around (stunk to high heaven) then annually we had a nice man in to cut back the high hedges. He would bring lorryloads of chipped prunings for other jobs and spread it around the garden as well as our own prunings. 25 years later, the soil is beautiful, deep and fertile.

[gness]

Thanks Eddie...will I be able to plant soon after digging that in?

When the first MrG went off with the girl from the pea canning factory I had some horse shi......... delivered to him on Valentine's Day...he had no garden. ☻

[heathfield]

I feel sorry for whoever had to put it through his letterbox!

[gness]

Thanks Woof....this house is about thirty years old and had just grass front and back.
I did the front last year and it's okay but deep and fertile is what I want. I need it to feel like dark scone mix rubbing through my fingers. I could fell and elephant with a clod of it at the moment.

[gness]

Heath!!! You think I ordered a small amount? Not on your life...:-)

[shoota]

Deep and fertile - that's me!

[Spoonboy]

Hello gness :))
Would it not be easier to gravel the lot and put potted plants around?!

[gness]

Mmmm now deep's okay...but fertile?

[shoota]

You asked..

[gness]

Spoon...there was an area of garden near the house that I had to build the dreaded decking and an arbour over because there was too much to shift.
Plants in good fertile soil is what I need.