very dry soil...

joelsoo · 24 Jun 2008

my south east facing front garden suffers from very dry soil, i water it throughly in the evenings but when i put a shovel through after i water the water barely makes it into 1 or the most, 2 inches into the soil and just flows away. is there a way to improve the soil condition? it seems overly well drained and i'm finding it hard to plant anything and have been spending alot on water bills watering whatever i plant there.

any advice to help improve the soil condition?

crazycanuck · 24 Jun 2008

i would guess you have sandy soil with to much drainage.
If so you can dig out 1 foot of soil or build up, your choice.
the new mix should be clay and peat moss, these will retain water.
Also large shrubs will shade the ground retaining moisture.

Thermo · 24 Jun 2008

compost, compost, compost, compost

joelsoo · 24 Jun 2008

hello thermo,

do i just dig out some of the dry sandy soil and mix in with compost?

joelsoo · 24 Jun 2008

crazycanuck said:
i would guess you have sandy soil with to much drainage.
If so you can dig out 1 foot of soil or build up, your choice.
the new mix should be clay and peat moss, these will retain water.
Also large shrubs will shade the ground retaining moisture.

if i add clay, doesn't it make my soil hard during the dry season

Thermo · 24 Jun 2008

fork it open and mix the compost in with it. the organic material will help to hold the water. the more you add the better.

dont add clay

joelsoo · 24 Jun 2008

Thermo said:
fork it open and mix the compost in with it. the organic material will help to hold the water. the more you add the better.

dont add clay

thanks for the tip i'd check my compost heap and see if its mature enough if not i'g run down b&q for some peat free multipurpose

cheers

BirdDesign · 24 Jun 2008

Thermo said:
compost, compost, compost, compost

Ditto

Hard sweaty work but will ultimately solve the problem!

Thermo · 24 Jun 2008

ah great minds think alike, and welcome to the forum!

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very dry soil...

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