very localized amending

19 years ago

Hi,

I bought a new house last summer and am now ready to put in the gardens which means replanting a lot of plants that friends were "babysitting" for me since last year.

I've removed a fair bit of sod to create several new beds. The soil - perhaps a bit more clay than the old place but even with all this rain we've had things don't look like there is a drainage problem. Plenty of worms, no sign of visible pests except for the odd slug.

When I plant something, I always dig a generous hole, add bagged triple mix (loam, peat, compost), more compost if the plant likes it (my favorite is mushroom compost), and a small handful of bone meal, stir it all up with lots of water, and then seat the plant in what is now surely a fabulous mix. I sometimes add a little blood meal to established plants on top of the soil because the squirrels just hate that :)

My question here is, do I have to amend the entire flower bed I've dug (which would be costly), or can I just continue to do that 'local' amending as I go?

I have experience with most things I'm planning to put into these beds and the hole I dig for them is the size of the root ball these plants get by the time I normally divide them. (geez, I hope that sentence made sense!) So their roots would not soon extend beyond the amended hole I created upon planting.

In short, can I cheap out or is it necessary to amend the entire bed evenly?

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Comments (5)

bpgreen
19 years ago
Actually, you may be better off "cheaping out" even more than you think you want.

Where in Ontario are you? I had a friend from Ontario whose soil was a heavy clay like mine. If that's what you have, then you'd be better off digging the hole, planting the plant and replacing the native soil. Any amending should be done on the surface.
Kimmsr
19 years ago
With clay, unless it is well amended, you always run the risk of creating a bathtub when you just amend the planting hole. If the clay is not really well amended water will not flow as easily through it and making a spot where water does flow easily simply makes someplace for that water to collect. Plant your plants and put a good mulch on the soil surface and because you appear to have a fairly good, active Soil Food Web they should work that into your soil for you.
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chris_ont
Original Author
19 years ago
I'm north-east of Toronto.

Good point about the bathtub-concept, although I don't think it's THAT bad in terms of clay content.
I may have to wait until things dry out a bit. I'm assuming more clay than I'm used to (previously, I had slightly sandy soil), because when I turned it, it seemed rather heavy and it was a lighter brown color than what I'm used to seeing. There was also some moss in the newest site, but that is in the shade (going to try hellebores there).

I've scattered a bag of compost and some coffee grinds over that one since it'll be a couple of weeks before I'm planting there, anyway. I'll test the drainage in a few holes before I do.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
19 years ago
It is ALWAYS better to amend the entire planting bed when planting permanent plants, rather than the hole-by-hole method. As a matter of fact, it is no longer recommended that permanent plantings be amended at all if installed hole-by-hole. BP is exactly right. If preparing an entire bed is not an option, leave all of those other things out of the planting hole.

You should still dig a spacious hole, so that the native soil is loosened up, but plant it directly into the unamended soil. Mulch, then, with a good 'organic' product of some sort: compost, composted wood chips, leaf mulch, pine straw, etc.

This is true, by the way, no matter what kind of soil you have.
pablo_nh
19 years ago
Yup. It's easier and more prefered to just add stuff on top. Be lazy- just like us :)