At the weekend I dug two beds in the garden - one small one for herbs and one larger one for flowers/shrubbery etc. I'm new to all this, and really taking a step into the unknown, so wanted to get some advice so I can set a good foundation.
I removed the top two inches or so of grass and dumped this part, I then dug down about 8 or 10 inches and turned over all the soil, breaking up the large clumps and removing all sizeable stones.
Next weekend I'm planning getting a soil test kit and then introducing some compost (or similar from the local garden centre) and then planting. (All over the course of the long weekend)
Any recommendations on other steps I should take? How do I know whether I need to introduce sand or improve drainage?
Also, the soil in one of the beds is clumped together quite a lot. I broke it up as much as possible but there are plenty of golf/tennis ball sized clumps left in it. Is there any argument to removing all this soil and replacing with better looking (better quality?) soil. Even for the first few inches? It looks quite ugly at the moment!
Thanks
I removed the top two inches or so of grass and dumped this part, I then dug down about 8 or 10 inches and turned over all the soil, breaking up the large clumps and removing all sizeable stones.
Next weekend I'm planning getting a soil test kit and then introducing some compost (or similar from the local garden centre) and then planting. (All over the course of the long weekend)
Any recommendations on other steps I should take? How do I know whether I need to introduce sand or improve drainage?
Also, the soil in one of the beds is clumped together quite a lot. I broke it up as much as possible but there are plenty of golf/tennis ball sized clumps left in it. Is there any argument to removing all this soil and replacing with better looking (better quality?) soil. Even for the first few inches? It looks quite ugly at the moment!
Thanks