Advice please (as in: step by step; Dummies edition)

I have a small border area under my sitting room window which I envisage planting with lavenders and a hebe or two.

It is at the front of the house and sandwiched between the path and the house; not large, maybe 12x2

Couldn't do anything with it at the end of summer because the ground was simply too, too hard! But, now we've had a lot of rain so it should be more workable.

It is South facing, heavy clay and, although it does pop up with one or two "things" during the Spring/Summer, they are nothing of note and not something I'm worried about losing but it is also quite weedy too.

So, (here's the nub), I'm thinking that now the ground is soft, I should be doing something in preparation for (ultimately) putting my lavenders and hebes in.

I think I need to put a weed killer on it so I have a "fresh start"; but I'm not sure if that is right?

I think I need to put some horticultural grit in it to improve drainage, but I'm not sure at which point I do that? In advance? When I actually plant?

I think it is too late to put the plants in at this time of year; so, is Spring the best time? What can I do now to prepare for that (and in which order?)

TIA

 

Weedkiller is a bit pointless at this time of year, so I wouldn't bother.

I've heard of horticultural grit, and I think I found some in the concrete clay of my back garden. Others will no doubt disagree, but my view is this. Concrete is cement with gravel in it, it is many times stronger than cement alone. Likewise, clay with anything hard it is is many times harder to dig than clay alone.

My plan would be this. Acquire loads of bags of rotted poo or compost. Dig the whole lot over once, very roughly. Empty said bags of poo/compost onto it, and loosely dig it in. As you go along, pull out and discard any significant roots. Then do nothing.

Then in late winter/early spring, dig it all over again.

I bought 60 sacks of spent mushroom compost for my back garden, on Zig's recommendation. It was good advice, it sorted out a significant proportion of my back garden, although really it would have easily swallowed up a lot more.

 

Hi Mum.

Improving clay is a subject that comes up many times on the internet. Perhaps I can direct you to this earlier thread http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/improving-clay.21951/

It is generally agreed that clay needs :-

A) Physical particles to be added. This can be anything that is sharp ie irregular shaped. Horticultural grit is excellent but fairly expensive. I used 10 mil gravel and also sharp sand from a builders yard. They are cheaper and are 95% as good. These leave physical voids in the clay that help drainage.

b) Organic matter. This can be anything from leaves, twigs, manure, compost, straw, bark etc. they holds moisture and aid drainage by leaving physical holes like the grit. But organic material also rots down and binds together the very tiny clay particles to make bigger particles and hence better drainage. They also encourage worms, who make little drainage tunnels for you.

I added both these to my garden and they have made the world of difference. But whatever you do, aspects of clay will always be with you. However clay has a lot of good points - its full of nutrition.

The time to do it is when the bed is empty. Afterwhich the bed can be planted at any time - but next spring is probably the best time.

 

Thank you guys

Pete, I had seen that thread before and it is very inspirational; I've got a regular supply of straw/manure from my chooks and ducks and as it is free I think I'll go that route. I noticed you used layers of newspaper in your trench; may I ask why?

Ok, so:

Step 1: Dig over the boarder, pulling out weeds as I go. Dig into that lots of ducky-do-doo's. Leave for the winter to let nature have it's own turn at the area.

 

Is lavender going to like a rich mix of compost/rotten poo and clayey soil. I've found that digging pits and narrow strips out of heavy clay and filling with a different material can create wet, soggy sumps.

 

It was purely because I had lots of old newspapers that I needed to throw away. Being lazy - I buried them.

However they are organic and will rot down in the same way as straw and any other organic material.

Scrungee - I take your point that even if you have good soil, if its on top of bad clay it can still be soggy. I have never had that problem, and can only suggest that some better soil is an improvement on having no better soil at all.

I planted my front garden with perennials. I don't grow Lavender and am not really sure of its requirements other than it likes sun.

 

I always prefer to plant in autumn, so that the plants have a head start in spring, when root growth is at its strongest. As long as the soil isn't frozen yet, you can put plants in. In the nursery they are in pots + outside too, so what harm could it do to them if they would sit in the soil instead.

 

I would agree with Loveweeds - its usually easier to plant in autumn.

Technically speaking, spring is probably a bit better time for most things, as any damage you do when moving plants is quickly repaired if the plant is actively growing. But as Loveweeds said - if they are already sitting in pots - what harm can you do.

However the main reason I like the autumn is that you can still see what the plants are, if you haven't cut back the foliage. In spring, its more difficult to know what is what.

 

Mum,

If it is really claggy, then get some sand and shingle mix to dig in and that should improve the drainage and open up the soil too.