Old garden soil

[Jimmy]

Been in current house for going on 30 years.
It has a small veg plot (raised beds of late) and some borders round the lawns.
Every year I tip the old GH grow bags onto the beds and borders.
Plus loads of compost from my bins.

I think my problems are
1) I am overflowing with soil, over the years it's built up till now it's overflowing the beds.
2) Suspect it my somehow have become not very good after years of reuse.

Any ideas or suggestions.
Thanks
Jimmy

[Valleyman]

Wow... I thought soil was forever deceasing as no matter how much I add it seems to return to the same level. Then again I don't have 30 years of additions.

If I was in your situation:

1) Advertise it on freecycle as "bag your own" top soil. Someone will take it! Someone is inevitably building a raised bed or raised feature in their garden and just needs soil, no matter the quality. If you were my neighbour I'd take a builders bag and buy you a beer!
2) Riddle it and top your lawn. No matter how nutrient deficient you think it is, it's still probably significantly better than the stuff under your lawn. I often do this with my spare potato compost in spring to slowly get rid of the dips and bumps.
3) Who doesn't need MORE new raised beds?
4) Cut holes in your pockets, and get rid of it "shawshank redemption" style.

[kathyd]

I can't imagine ever having too much soil, I have the opposite problem! You could try mixing soil with compost for your containers maybe? Would decrease the overall amount of used compost going back into the garden. And improve your beds by adding manure and/or leaf mould or other organic matter if your own compost isn't doing the job already? Or grow some green manures and dig them back in? If you're rotating your crops and adding compost regularly, I'd be surprised if the soil condition was that poor though... If you really do have too much soil, I'm sure someone would relieve you of some of it - advertise it on Freecycle or wherever? There are always people looking for good topsoil...

Oops, cross posted!!

[Jimmy]

Putting it on the lawn sounds good. One of them does have a dip the size of the Grand Canyon running across it. I think there is a pipe laid under the lawn and the soil has dropped.
I would put more raised beds on the lawns but the wife seems to think we need them so I can enjoy mowing them.

She offered to mow them but I know what that involves.

• Jim gets the mower out.
• Jim connects up all the cables and fits the grass bag.
• Jim carries mower to various lawns.
• Jim empties grass bag and re fits.
• Jim cleans mower and puts away along with cables.

Jimmy

[Elfeda]

When I have enough soil, do not get any new bags for green house. Instead I start improving the existing top soil by adding organic matter and re-use the same for green house.I will try adding more pots in the back and front of the house to grow flowers or patio fruit plants.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I notice you tip your grow bags on there. You could always save that compost over winter, riddle out any roots, sweeten it with some 7-7-7 fertiliser and reuse.

[Valleyman]

Putting it on the lawn sounds good. One of them does have a dip the size of the Grand Canyon running across it. I think there is a pipe laid under the lawn and the soil has dropped.
I would put more raised beds on the lawns but the wife seems to think we need them so I can enjoy mowing them.

She offered to mow them but I know what that involves.

• Jim gets the mower out.
• Jim connects up all the cables and fits the grass bag.
• Jim carries mower to various lawns.
• Jim empties grass bag and re fits.
• Jim cleans mower and puts away along with cables.

Jimmy

Haha. This sounds familiar!

Don't get me started on the pruning. In march my wife had a day off and decided to 'do some gardening'. I got home to a albeit lovely and well pruned garden. I then went behind the greenhouse and found what can only be described as the Mount Everest of pruning cuttings. 4 hours pruning, and I got lumbered with 3 days of chopping it up. And guess who proudly stated that they did all the pruning this year?

[Penellype]

Some of us women do mow our own lawns, trim our own hedges, prune the bushes and chop up the rubbish. I even cut down a tree earlier this year. Just don't expect me to use a drill!

Soil tends to expand in my garden too. I keep adding compost to the veg garden area as the actual soil there is more like sand, and I'm debating putting some edging round to keep it in, making a shallow raised bed. The only difficulty is that I use the whole of the end bit as one piece, so it would be difficult to know what to do with the edging there. I'd also probably end up tripping over it.

When I dug my pond I used the surplus soil to make raised beds on my patio.

[Jay-ell]

Hi Jim,

Just wondering if you dig your beds or use a no dig method?

[Jimmy]

Hi Jim,

Just wondering if you dig your beds or use a no dig method?

Just a fork over. They are riddled with Mares Tails and forking gets loads out.
Jimmy

[alldigging]

Once I get over the deep envy of having too much soil ...

Put some in pots and grow some lettuces or herbs or flowers, or anything apart from (presumably) tomatoes.

Feed the soil with a seaweed feed.

[Jimmy]

I grow many thing including lettuce and herbs etc.
Flowers are for the compost bin.
Jimmy

[BUFFS]

Wow... I thought soil was forever deceasing as no matter how much I add it seems to return to the same level. Then again I don't have 30 years of additions.

If I was in your situation:

1) Advertise it on freecycle as "bag your own" top soil. Someone will take it! Someone is inevitably building a raised bed or raised feature in their garden and just needs soil, no matter the quality. If you were my neighbour I'd take a builders bag and buy you a beer!
2) Riddle it and top your lawn. No matter how nutrient deficient you think it is, it's still probably significantly better than the stuff under your lawn. I often do this with my spare potato compost in spring to slowly get rid of the dips and bumps.
3) Who doesn't need MORE new raised beds?
4) Cut holes in your pockets, and get rid of it "shawshank redemption" style.

or" the great escape", everyones old time crimbo favourite