Mulching and clay soil improvement

Just wondering for any final tips before I start planting in my "sunny border".

Its heavy clay and gets baked/dry in the summer.

I've cleared it of plants, stuck 8 bags of manure on it since nee year, rotorvated and raked it.

Just wondering if there are any final things I could do to help drainage/retain moisture before i start planting?

Also wondering whether a bark mulch would help retain moisture after I have planted? (Got things like delphiniums, lupins, verbena etc to plant) Need it to retain moisture and also put slugs off!

Asking for the impossible I think but any thoughts appreciated!

 

If you say it is heavy clay. Here is what I would do. And I had to do it for my heavy clay slope. You are going to need some bags of manure, and peat. and a rototiller (can rent it) Dig out some of the clay soil and move it to somewhere else. Now dump bags of manure and peat throughout that are. Take the rototiller and work in the peat, manure and clay soil, churning the three together. Now smooth it all out, NOW you are ready to plant whatever and to mulch with whatever you choose. Without doing that, it will take years for any mulch to break down into the clay soil and make it "nice" soil. Had I know this 26 years ago, my first garden would have done that to. But my last garden ---the slope one had it done to it. Judging from the size, it should take you 4 hours, provided you have all the stuff.

 

Thanks @redstar it's had loads of manure rotorvated in....but not peat? I'll see if I can get hold of some and dig that in too. Thanks v much for advice

 

Hi S85 It sounds as though you've done a lot of prep already! Any mulch will help, the thicker the better. Bark does tend to harbour slugs and snails, though. Would it be against your religion to sprinkle some of the 'wildlife friendly' pellets before mulching? Another alternative which would improve the soil more quickly is to source spent compost..whether ex-mushroom (unless you are growing lime-hating plants) or old growbags, anything fine and, dare I say it, peat-like. Some councils have municipal composting schemes and sell big quantities of stuff, which would be ideal. Any farms, stables or riding schools nearby? Well-rotted manure is hard to come by but you could use a base layer of manure covered with a thin layer of sterile (ish) material. The key is to keep mulching every year....one day you'll have the most wonderful soil

 

Thanks @noisette47 Indeed I do have a stable (probably about 5) nearby and have been getting bags of well rotted stuff for £1 each When you say "wildlife friendly" pellets....what do you mean?(sorry if I'm a bit slow lol)

 

Fill it with nasturtium. It'll be happy there, and will fill it with so much organic mass by next winter that it'll be fine for just about anything new to year.

 

@clueless1 good tonknow that about nasturtium as I'm about to dig over a lotty plot that had a load in

As for the border....I can't wait that long to do proper planting hee hee. Got my plants all lined up ready to go!

 

I would dig in plenty of manure and grit.

If you are feeling adventurous you could put in some raised beds made from railway sleepers.

 

Not slow at all....() I can only offer what I know of here....it's called Ferramol..based on ferrous sulphate I think. Supposedly only affects slugs and snails and breaks down in contact with the soil to provide iron. There was an alternative to the usual metaldehyde in the UK but having trouble remembering what it was called! Will do a bit of Googling.....back later!

 

Thanks @noisette47 I was very tired last night, nodding off replying lol. I went to a garden centre today and found these pet friendly slug pellets that u put around plants and water them and they turn wooly which puts off the slugs. Trying them in pots of hostas first to see how they do!

 

I put a layer of horticultural grit on top of hostas in pots, this seems to deter the slugs/ snails.

Rusty

 

Snap! Snorky85 It's all this fresh air.....Those slug pellets sound interesting!
The other ones I was thinking of are based on methiocarb but there's something funny going on on t'internet. They used to be considered much more wildlife friendly than metaldehyde ones but now the info on Google says the opposite Ferramol is definitely the current 'green' option here, though. I've just spent 2 hours going round with a torch stamping on snails. It doesn't half upset the neighbours who consider it a waste of good food Will go round tomorrow with lots of little pots of iffy wine to get the slugs