What to do with a truly awful growing space

[MrsP]

Hi

Husband and I are considering buying a new (as in not even built yet!) house, and while the gardens attached to these as-yet unbuilt houses are not a bad size, I'm fully expecting the ground to be utterly useless for growing anything.

Considering that I'm likely to be trying to grow my carrots through the digger-compacted rubble of a demolished college if I don't do some serious preparation, does anyone have any ideas on how to make the best of such nightmarish growing conditions?

If we do manage the move we're going to be mighty short of money, so a massive outlay of cash on soil and compost is -not- going to be an option.

J

[mrsflibble]

try freecycle for topsoil, it may sound surprising but loads of poeple round here seem to offer it. they're just happy to get rid of it.
other than that all I can suggest is many many planters.

[farmerdrea]

Do you have any stables near the property? Stables around here (of which there are many) let people come in and collect trailer loads of stable waste (usually poo mixed with straw or wood shavings) for free. It would be a good thing to dump on the compacted ground and then just wait for the worms to do the work, though it will take a long time.

Cheers
Andrea
New Zealand

[frozenthunderbolt]

hire a powerfull backhoe to big in mass organic mattter, compost and a slurry made of powdered CHARCOAL, NOT coal (thus initiating terra preta nova) and loosen the soil/rubble, or else make raised gardens - rubble walls? how big the rubble? bricks or cinderblocks could be recycled to make em maybe?

[Jandra]

Exciting, a possible new house! As for the garden: I'd make raised beds and try for something like freecycle to find topsoil to fill them. Also, some of your new neighbours may be digging ponds and have topsoil to spare. It may not be great quality but you can improve with manure and compost and better quality top soil.

Good luck, Jandra

[possum]

it is hard work, but dig it over and throw out all the stones that you unearth, and continue to chuck them out everytime you you are digging, in my last house we had to get rid of several tons of limestone rubble. it took a long time, but we gradually improved the soil
also, compost everything you can, even ask the neighbours for their green waste

[Peggy Sue]

When we moved to an estate house with heavy clay and very well established shrubs 7ft high we wanted veg. We pulled up a giant shrub which gave us a bed about 10ft square. The soil was useless but we have dug in loads of manure and some sand each year and it's doing sweetcorn, beans, raspberries, onions and beetroot this year. Each year is a bit easier and a bit better.

Start with a small bit and expand, it's not as daunting

[9ball]

I've gone through two garden forks working on new build gardens this year! If you can get some topsoil from freecycle raised beds really would be the way to go. If you don't have any luck with that then start with a small bed, that soil is gonna need a lot of love, and grow stuff in containers as well - maybe some Nev style earthboxes.

[hedgewizard]

Absolutely. Raised beds, raised beds, raised beds. If you want good depth of soil, mark the footprint of the raised bed first and dig it out, then backfill with topsoil, and build the raised bed on top. If you can't afford the topsoil, then bribe someone from the local council to bring you a lorry load of "recycled mulch" - the stuff the council use in flower beds - and mix it 50/50 with your existing soil, taking care to take as much crap out of the existing stuff as possible as you go. Personally, I'd buy the topsoil - if it's only raised beds you won't need all that much really.

[JR]

I agree raised beds work great.

We had chalk and stones, I broke it all up as best as I could, made large raised beds out of pressure treated timber lined with plastic to retain moisture and keep the soil from the inner sides (so they last longer too). We then added a few of the stones in the bottom and filled with topsoil from a friends garden, mixed with rotted poo from another frinds stable and Roberts your Dads brother!

See picture, all crops turned out FAB!
we had Toms in the growbags too.



We have up-scaled now and have gone for an allotment close by.

Good luck in your preparation.

[wulf]

Start with a small bit and expand, it's not as daunting

I think that bit of advice is essential. Work on a manageable portion at a time - you can always use the rest of the space for plants like nasturtiums, which are pretty tough, edible and pretty.



Wulf

[yugogypsy]

Hello,

When we started 5 years ago, we had little to work with, we were establishing a garden where none existed before.

We use raised beds for everything and dig them over and add manure and compost each year, we put on the ashes from the woodstove and are hoping to get some seaweed this year.

We took it a little at a time, We got the first set of beds going good before tackling a space on the opposite side of the yard, and then beside the house and finally the front yard, we have 4 sections of beds, with 2 more this year thats 5.

Don't try to do too much in one go, it'll only frustrate you.

Go slow and grow a few more things each year as you establish beds for them

Lois