How much digging must I do?

I've got 425 spring flower bulbs to plant in an area that is currently poor quality lawn.

How what sort of area do we reckon I need to turn over in preparation?

 

Only 425. hummm. well you did not say the size of the bulb. did not say that they were all the same, or what type. Lets pretend they are the average daff bulb. So, that is usually 4 inches deep. Now if you plant them too close, in about 4 years you will have to lift them and thin, as they make babies, and tighten up. too close the bulbs will hinder flowering. so if you give them some separation then you can go longer to lift them and split, and re-plant. another story.

I happen to have 100.000 bulbs . all planted.

 

I use a bulb planter as below, when planting bulbs in flower beds , they work a treat You can fly along planting bulbs and filling the next hole as you go along. Pretty sure it won't make an impression in a compacted lawn though. You will have to lift the turf and work the ground underneath add a little BFB . Try and get the type of bulb you are planting at the approx right depth as chart shows.

 

I have the one Harry has, and also the tall type, that you use your foot to push it in the ground, then whip it up, and tap --then the soil just drops back in the ground, using your foot to push it back in gentle . For this year, have not gotten anymore. As I think next spring will again be more lifting and splitting. More babies . and then who knows the number then.

 

I've dug over a patch of lawn maybe 10ft long by approx 3 ft wide. Will that be enough?

 

Work it out with trowel size. A trowel digs out say 2 inches wide by 2 inches, so a hole of 4 sq inches. Multiply by 425 which is 1700 sq inches Divide by 144 (sq inches in a sq foot) which is approx 12 sq feet. So your bed is 30 sq feet. Plenty of room, if my maths is correct.

 

Think I would just plant in the grass/lawn with a mind to killing off the grass,if you dont want it anymore, next summer when the bulb foliage has died.

 

The grass is a bit rubbish so I'm happy for it to go. The ground was very compacted too, so all in all, a full digging over made most sense.

 

I planted 250 daffodil bulbs along the side of my drive and footpath to the front door. That area in total was approximately 80 x 3ft. Over the years they now amass about 400-500 and next year will probably need lifting to split them up. The picture below is showing about 15ft x 3ft of that area and was taken spring 2015.