DIGGING A FLOWERBED?

I only have pots and containers in my garden so decided to dig myself a flowerbed at the side of the decking. I dug the top layer of grass out, dug over all the soil and removed the weeds. What do I do next, do I sprinkle and dig in some top soil. Im dying to get some plants in. Thought I would just try some cheapy bedding plants to start with though. Never done anything like this before, (never knew it was so hard work, phew ).
Heather.
P.S. think my soil has a lot of clay in it.

dig in plenty of compost, so the soil is ice and light and easy to work.

You could have saved yourself a lot of work. I now let the worms do the digging. A really good book for you is Bob Flowerdew's "The No-Work Garden". It's a gem, and will give you loads of encouragement.

But on with the task. Rake it over. This will smooth it out and make it a bit firmer. Get a couple of bags of farmyard manure. Erin do one and there are others. Suggest you try google. Spread this about 30 to 50mm deep and then pop the plants in at soil level. You don't have to dig the manure in, the worms will gradually do that for you, and far better than you can manage.

Go to a nursery if you can find one that grows their own plants, they will be better value, but read BF's book first.

Alternatively, surprise yourself with your amazing skill. Get some French Marigold seed, and after raking the soil, water it well, (you will need to collect rain water for best results) and put the seeds in one at a time, point downwards. 100mm apart. Leave the manure if you are growing from seed until the plants are a fair size, when you can thin them out spread it between them.

I would put a sheet of polythene over the bed for a few days, then you will see the seedlings start to grow. They are very fast germinators so are encouraging. Another one is Nasturtium, not so fast, but has nice flowers, but likes to ramble. You can eat the flowers and leaves in salads.

One thing to remember is that the seeds interest in growing is greater than yours, so it's not hard to get a result.

Feed the soil not the plants. Avoid pointless expense like Miracle Grow, You can get a small plastic dustbin, drill a few holes in the bottom, or get one of those DAlek compost thingys, then put all your vegetable waste in it, torn up cardboard, toilet roll holders, shredded paper (not glossy), egg boxes. The worms will move in and make compost for you. Or watch the video http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/composting/index.php

Aw thats fantastic. Thanks so much for your help. By the advice Ive been given, compost or manure is best, What is top soil then?
Thanks again,
Heather. x

Topsoil's what the grass was growing in, and what the worms and other mechanical beasties live in. It's a foot or so deep. It isn't just a heap of dirt, it's just as much alive as all the plants and needs to be treated carefully. Most of us (inc me) don't treat it as well as we should.

PS did you ever get a new strimmer?

So is it not worth buying top soil to rake through my flower bed then? Im only asking you this coz I know somewhere close where I can buy it but not sure bout other stuff.

What a good memory you have about my strimmer. I read loads of reviews and bought one yesterday. I was out first thing with it this morning. Dont want to sound like a right garden geek but oh my word I LOVE IT! Haha . I got a Flymo Powertrim 500XT. Its amazing how much easier gardening is with the right tools.

Gonna see how my flower bed goes then I might attempt a little veg and herb patch. Theres no stopping me now!

Thanks again for all your help.

compost contains more nutrients and organic matter which will help lighten the soil, improve drainage, heat retention, water retention, amongst other things

Can I ask you a question that'll make me sound a bit thick ? Ive got 2 big bags of multi purpose compost in my shed. Am I able to use these before I go out and buy some?

You may as well use them, meanwhile get started with a compost bin of some sort. Worm composting is fine if you have only a small amount of material. Talking of material, see what Amy Young did

Feather said:

What a good memory you have about my strimmer. I read loads of reviews and bought one yesterday. I was out first thing with it this morning. Dont want to sound like a right garden geek but oh my word I LOVE IT! Haha . I got a Flymo Powertrim 500XT. Its amazing how much easier gardening is with the right tools.

Click to expand...

It certainly is

Look at the "Old Quicktime Mowing video" to see how easy. [/url]

oilman said:

You don't have to dig the manure in, the worms will gradually do that for you, and far better than you can manage.

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I don't think that starting a to and fro on this one is worthwhile but I will say this. In an average garden if you put 50mm of compost on top of a bed and just leave it, in 2 years time it will still be there worms or no worms. Forking it in isn't much work if the bed's dug already and has 10 times the benefit. Read Thermo's quiet posts above.

I've never read Bob Flowerdew's "The No-Work Garden" and I never will but there is always a good market for people who say they have found a way to avoid work.

(A prize-winning gardener these past 30-odd years).

I did say that in relation to manure rather than "compost", some of which can be fairly uninteresting to worms I would imagine, particularly the peaty kind..