Soil Bed and Amending Soil

josh b

josh b

Well-Known Member
Hey all

I will be growing in the ground this year and have a few questions on the ground i am working worth

My problem is that a few inches below the topsoil it is very sludgy , i am sure that this is a mixture of clay , loam and sand and wondering if i willl have any troubles adding compost and other matter.

I was thinking of adding another 300ltr of mutypurpose compost to raise the bed so there is a more better enviroment for the plants to live in.


The question is........

Would a simple turning of the soil and adding some other compost be enough for the plants to live in or will the roots grow down more than 2ft and hit the wet area.

Also would it be better to let the plants grow for about 8 weeks in pots then cut of the bottoms and lay them on a prepped bed and let them spread there roots during flowering ?

:-(


Hope you can help
 
F

frmrboi

Well-Known Member
josh b said:
Would a simple turning of the soil and adding some other compost be enough for the plants to live in or will the roots grow down more than 2ft and hit the wet area.
Also would it be better to let the plants grow for about 8 weeks in pots then cut of the bottoms and lay them on a prepped bed and let them spread there roots during flowering ?
Click to expand...
A raised bed is always a good thing, the roots will grow where they are most comfortable to their needs.
That thing with bottomless pots makes sense to me too.
There's a product you can buy that you paint on the inside of your pots walls that stops the roots from growing in a swirl around the walls (spinout) called microkote.
That would be a good investment so that the roots grow down into the soil.
I'd use the native soil in the pots so that there's no readjustment to soil chemistry encountered by the plants.
 
Muffy

Muffy

Active Member
Use pots if you need to relocate but anything in an amended bed will do better if you can keep up.
 
C

Chunky

Well-Known Member
Clay, Loam and sand are not bad, Mix in some coco, and some composts, a bag of perlite for drainage, a bit of gyspum, and some dolomite lime and let it sit for a few weeks and settle in, this will break up the clay and condition the soil and increase the drainage capabilities. This is the easiest method, a raised bed and pots as previously described would yield you better results though with considerably more effort.

Without seeing exactly the sort of soil you are growing in I cannot be certain which is best, though it sounds similar to mine, I grow as I first described as the water table is quite high so watering plants even in the heat of summer is only nessecary for greater results and adding more nutes.

Good luck.
 
josh b

josh b

Well-Known Member
Thanks peeps

As you were saying frmrboi

I will go with the option of growing them in pots , then after they are a comfortable height to my choice i shall cut the bottom of the pots off , break the bottom of the roots up and sit them on the bed.

So from what i now kno , i will have to take my chances and get on with prepping my bed which is what i was going to do in the first place before i over reacted about the water buildup .

Thank you very much people
 
josh b

josh b

Well-Known Member
Does anybody have a good mix for perlite and compost ?

Would 10ltr of perlite be too much for 500 ltr of compost then mix into the ground with the clay ?

Thanks people
 
josh b

josh b

Well-Known Member
Oooh ok people than you

I just thought that enough people used it and rughly kno how much to add

But as frmrboi said , u can never have too much , ill have to look around and see what people do with it.
Thanks once again
 
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