Hello from Aberdeen Scotland

while I'm not a new gardener I am new to the NE of Scotland. I lived most of my days in the NW of the United States where the growing seasons are long and the soil lovely black and full of nutrients from sea life, and ancient volcanic actions.

Soil in Scotland seems to be a mystery to me. Here in Aberdeen there is a lot of sandy soil, as we are so close to the north sea this is to be expected.

In my front garden the soil is dry, very dry. Alpines do very well, so my herbs thrive year after year and resemble small trees rather than delicate herbs if I let them. Yet in my back garden there is a combination. near to the house is dry soil that is quite rich, yet needs a little fertilizer. I am planning this year to plant vegtables in a small area where it gets the most sunlight.

At the bottom of the garden it slopes and is very wet during the winter, but only for a month or so. The grass in this garden grows so well it must be cut every week otherwise we can have 5 inches of growth. At the bottom of the garden I am planning to plant fruit trees and roses. I will have some planters with strawberries as well.

Now my question is this. What is the best way to gain good soil, that will hold moisture in the front, and nutrient rich in the back? I am planning to plant organically, and have plans to keep lovely slugs and snails away that are humane and proven to work well. Any suggestions on what grows best vegtable wise in a garden would be useful. My vegtable patch will be 10 feet by 12 feet square.

Thank you very kindly.

 

hi kathrynmac welcome to gc

 

Hi, Kathrynmac - nice to see you!

Any soil will benefit from adding organic matter, as that will add nutrients to anything, and with heavy clay will help to provide drainage. Your sandy area obviously doesn't need any more drainage, but it would be worthwhile anyway.

I think I'd want to add local top-soil to it, to make it closer to a loam, and dig that in as well as the organic matter. You might find your local recycling centre (known to the locals as the Cowp!) will have plenty availabe to people who turn up for it! It might cost something, or it might be free to residents, as it is a bit further south from you, where I am (not far from Edinburgh.)

I suggest you ask the question about veg in the edible gardening section, as you'll find lots of people with allotments concentrate on that section. I'm just starting to put veg growing into practice myself, and I know there are lots of people on here who can give you better info than I can.

Good Luck! :D

 

Hi Kathrynmac and welcome to gc

 

Welcome to GC Kathrynmac

 

hello and welcome to GC kathrynmac

 

Hi KathrynMac and welcome. What is the humane method of getting rid of slugs that you are planning to use?

 

Some slugs are good but others a nuisance. To prevent them I have found a very nice product similar to one I used in the USA in my garden. Cats and other small animials are not effects and no chance of poison being walked on. Treated a few kitties for this and its not nice! There are several sites that sell similar products here is one.

http://www.rootrainers.co.uk/gardeners/protection/slugandsnailshocka


SLUGS AND SNAILS ARE BRITAIN'S NUMBER ONE GARDEN PEST!

The Slug and Snail Shocka is made from a patented fabric called Tex-R. This unique Slug and Snail control fabric has been impregnated on one side with a special formulation containing copper. When slugs move onto the Slug & Snail Shocka it gives them a shock (similar to when tin foil makes contact with an amalgam tooth filling) causing discomfort, after which they move away to more comfortable places.

Slug & Snail is very versatile and can be used to go around plants in the garden or be placed under pots . It can be re-used and remains effective for several years. This fabric is used by professional growers as a ground cover fabric to prevent root penetration into sandbeds as well as a moisture retaining and weed establishment prevention measure. Growers have found that the presence of slugs and snails and their resulting damage was significantly reduced when this fabric was used.

 

hi KathrynMac
also from aberdeen (newtonhill)
welcome to gc hope you enjoy

 

Kathy3 good to see you. Maybe you could supply me with NE special gardening tips. I have a project that Im trying to get the local school interested in. It's called the "Secret Garden Project" it's an attempt to involve the little uns at school and the ones going for HNC an opportunity to use my garden as a learning base, and experiment growing their own small plants and such. I am excited about it, trying to get the school head excited is another thing all together. We had something like this in the USA and the kids loved digging about, getting their own plants to grow and then eating the yummy fruit and veg. A lot of parents noticed that at home the children began to eat better as a result. Tricky but it does work. If you know of anyone who might be interested please let me know.

 

know what you mean about the schools kathryn. i used to help run the local pipe band tried to get school involved as we had little ones from age 6 but not a lot of luck.
what they did do for me was ,i asked if the art teacher would run a little competition with his classes to draw us a logo that we could use for headed note paper,it was super,so your idea could work a treat,if you can trust the little blighters in your garden :rolleyes: