Compost medium for garden bed

Okay, since my last post things have been happening in the Pennine household. I now have permission from the council to lift the paving stones in my front yard and would like to know what people would suggest as a good medium.

I have dug up one flagstone and there is a depth of 10 inches to the concrete base and I assume it will be the same for the rest, so you could say really, with that depth, it will be an underground container garden as such.

Talking to someone who has an allotment suggested that I did 2/3's compost with 1/3 top soil or could I just get away with all compost.

The thing which does concern me is drainage. As there is a concrete floor, there will be nowhere for the water to go besides to the neighbouring yards.

Any ideas would be gratefully received.

Many Thanks

Andy

 

normally the base under pavers is very weak and sometimes even crumbly, so have you tried breaking a hole through it.

If it is to hard for a fork try driving a spike or old metal pipe through with a hammer.

 

Did the water lay on the paving before you took it up. If not the situation will remain the same now as it was before. Blacksmith has given you a good idea though.

 

Yeah been talking to someone on the estate who has a garden in their yard done by the council when they revamped the estate in the 80's. They drilled out about 2 foot of the base for her, and there was plenty more to drill apparently, so God knows how deep the base is.

The yards drains very well no water ever laid on the paving.

It seems I am stuck with a 10 inch deep garden. With regards to soil/compost now I know what I am up against what do you do recommend?

 

one of my friends lifed a whole section of paving blocks long the back garden wall, so as to make a bed (the paving blocks were 600mm square)

to his horror, he found that underneath the paving blocks was 4 inch thick concrete

he bought a heavy metal rod with a sharp point (I cannot remember what these are called) ....

a few bashes with the rod in a few places, and the concrete smashed ... it was actually very easy to sort, as the concrete lifted out in large sections

 

10 inches will do for most things except parsnips & other deep roots.

A mixture of topsoil & compost would be good, if you just used compost the blackbirds would be forever throwing it all over the place.

 

Depending what you have in mind to grow,for a flower garden with shrubs type display I would be inclined to use top soil for the bulk and feed each plant with compost/well rotted farm yard manure on planting.For a veg patch again manure if required in each row.But with carefull checking as to each plants requirements I cant see to many problems as long as drainage is good.

 

Many thanks for the feedback, really appreciated.

Gives me some ideas to play about with. My imagine is running wild at the moment, but with some hard work between now and spring, looking forward to next year immensly.

 

To break up the concrete you can hire a pneumatic or hydraulic drill (there are small hand jobs easily and cheaply available). You may well find it breaks up quite easily ... Councils never ever have been known to use too much cement in relation to the amount of sand
You might even have access to a pick?
If it was me, I would tend to use about two thirds good topsoil and one third compost .... then add maybe some farmyard manure (available in bags). The choice is yours. As stated ... depends on what you intend to do with it

 

this could be a tricky one ...

if you are not going to remove the concrete, I'd look at a compost that can hold water better... perhaps John Innes #3 ... otherwise, you will need to water often

if you use a lighter free draining mixture, you may find that it will dry out pretty quick as I am sure ther water would find a way to run off even though there is a slab of concrete underneath

I would personally spend a bit more money and do a proper job by removing the concrete, even if you have to hire a jackhammer .... you may find that once you break a piece near the edge, you will be able to easily lift large pieces of concrete

plants cost a lot of money and you will always be worried about the drainage etc

I'm just guessing and am sure that more knoweleagble people will advise

 

You could try raised beds within and on top of your present soil.