How we got the perfect soil!

[liskeardjane]

Well.........I can't take any credit for this as the garden is dearly beloved's department! We have been collecting perfectly tilled, very fine soil that we have been adding to pots and raised beds and some very brilliant diggers have dug it very neatly for us. We;ve been collecting mole hills. Liskeard has a million moles and all their mates have dug up every inch of it. Dearly beloved has taken old compost bags, old ikea bags in fact any old bags an has collected all of the mole hills. We heard this is perfectly dug over soil and can be used in pots and beds so he's collected it! He is such a freegan but this was just inspired so I thought I'd let you all know. Plus - the parks, verges, local school field, green bits around the eurospar car park look a lit tidier!

[Millymollymandy]

You can come here as there's loads of the little beggars! Be warned it will be full of weed seeds so isn't that great as a potting compost.

Has he got big muscles now? When I've cleaned up the mole hills off lawned areas it never fails to amaze me how heavy it is!

[bonniethomas06]

MMM do you think it would be better if you exposed it to light (say, by spreading it over a large tray) for a while to let the weed seeds germinate, then bag it up for a while to kill the seedlings?

I have been thinking about how to make my own potting compost for ages now as we have loads of molehills, and also very very well (5yrs+) horse manure. I thnk that was how Monty Don used to do it on Gardeners World, but I would be interested to hear if anyone else makes their own potting/seed compost?

[Millymollymandy]

It might work but I bet there'd still be seeds lurking! What I should have said earlier is seed compost rather than potting compost. I do use molehill soil mixed with home made compost and leaf mould as my potting compost for things like tomatoes which I mostly grow in big pots, so I'm not bothered about weeds growing in the pots which can be pulled out. But for tiny little pots of things pricked out, or sowing seeds in trays, it would be a no-no as you just wouldn't know what was the thing you sowed and it would disturb the seedlings weeding out the other things.

I think some people sterilise the soil by putting it in the microwave but that sounds like too much like hard work to me!