I'm new here... and I need your help!

Hi there. I am new to all of this gardening () but really getting into it a bit quickly! I have a question about a gardening project I am working on in our back garden. I thought I'd enclose some photos as I'm proud of my work! :yho:











Here's the big question: We have filled the whole of the raised bed with a really good mix of manure, compost and top soil bought from homebase and wyevale and have put bark chippings on the top of it.

Having done a test on our old clay-like soil it was pH 7.0. I have discovered that the water is pH 7.9 here (Thatcham). We have bought a lot of plants and I want to know if I should water them with this water or should do something (i.e. try to balance the water somehow?). The main plants are:

A rose bush
Forest flame (x2)
A mini apple tree
A rhododendron
A Rosemary tree
A lavender tree
An aucuber japonica
A clematis


Will they survive with Alkaline watering even though I have new soil/manure/compost or will they need special attention? Our garden is south facing.

Thank you so much for your help! I hope to come here a lot more and ask even more questions

 

Hi Jblonde002, Welcome to Gc, loads of people who can help on here, and a really good start you have made-every reason to be proud of yourself.


About the water-have you considered a water butt to collect the rain from your gutters and using gray water? I kow some gardeners who would only use rain water on their plants anyway. The rhododendron will not like alkaline conditions.

 

Thannks for the prompt reponse. W can't really afford a water butt at the moment (ran out of money!) although we do have a wheelbarrow that is left outside that gathers a lot of rainwater. I been pouring this away! Ooops, the folly of my ways.

I can use this on the garden when it is wet although I wasn't sure if the soil I have bought would be able to support the plant for a while, even though I am giving it Alkaliney water?

Thank you for your comments on the garden. I feel a bit silly being proud having looked at other people's around the site now!

 

No need to feel silly at all-you have every reason to be proud-no one starts off with a complete garden ( in fact very few ever end up with one, it always need fine tuning lol), and you won't be killing them by any means, different plants have different requirements to give of their best, so use the tap water if that's what you have available, they'll need regular waterings to help them establish. It'll be fine, also just using yet another opportunity to promote freecycle. You register to receive emails ( click to receive digest you get hundreds of individual emails otherwise), people give stuff away they no longer require, i got my new ( old) wheelbarrow that way-I only had to collect it. A waterbutt or two may come up.



http://www.freecycle.org/

 

These guys aren't going to work I'm afraid

Forest flame (x2)
A rhododendron

I am presuming my memory is still working !! and the Forest Flame is Pieris?

I have a very strong view, others disagree, but I never grow any acid-loving plants on our alkaline soil, they never look as good as The Real Thing, and its a whole load of hassle. It probably stems from my Mother's collection of Camellias and Pieris that we have to hand water from the watering butt, lovingly apply Murphy's Sequestered Iron to (not to mention putting sheets over the Camellias to try to keep the frost off the buds ...). Sorry, too much work for me!

 

The Rhododendron might be happier in a big tub of its own ericaceous compost and watered with collected rain water.

 

Madness ... all that mollycoddling ...

.. I'll be getting my coat then, eh? ...

 

Wow, thanks so much. I think I might do the vinegar thing for the moment. The forest flame is a shame, I think they're beautiful plants, so I may try to keep them going. The real problem for me is that the plants were only put in on Thursday so I want to make sure they survive for the short term. Still, the water butt may be possible because the prices are nowhere near as expensive as I thought.

Many thanks for your help... I'll assume the other ones are going to survive then!

 

Pot your acid lovers up using ericacious compost, then bury the pot in your border jblonde..

 

"I always thought it was a mixture of early morning sunshine & frost that did for Camellias not just the frost.."

Yes, you are right. These were in tubs on the North side of the house ... but still the ritual was followed slavishly. I'm scarred for life

 

What id suggest is to plant the pieris and Rhode in a separate bed were you can nurture them, loads of ericaues compost and regular feed with sequestrene.

in a seperate bed you can then keep a regular check on the soil ph and adjust as needed.

 

You have done a good job and you should be proud. I havent been into the gardening thing for very long either really but I've always used the "try it and see" methods to my gardening

In the past I have planted plants that only like full sun in the shade and vice versa but they have still lived and doing well a few years later. Some plants I have done everything as per instructions and lost them so sometimes its a case of trial and error and I do think sometimes its all part of the fun!

I can also vouch for Freecycle, as mentioned early. Have a nice mini greenhouse winging its way to me for free tomorrow

 

"You have done a good job and you should be proud"

Absolutely, and looking back I neglected to say that in my first post, sorry about that. I think it looks very smart indeed