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How to improve my soil around perennials
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Posted by
grdnangl z5 WI (
My Page) on
Sat, May 21, 11 at 22:00
| I have an established garden with perennials. I have not amended my soil very much and have heavy clay soil. The last few years I have noticed that my plants have not been as lush and pretty as they used to be.
What is the easiest way to improve my soil and add nutrients back into the soil without disrupting all my perennials? I guess i just don't know what to do with the soil now that my plants are established. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: How to improve my soil around perennials
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| How about generous top-dressings of compost and mulch (that will slowly break down)? I can't think of anything better than that. Gary |
RE: How to improve my soil around perennials
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| Can you spread compost around your pants? Do you have a mulch down? If you don't have a mulch you could just start putting compost down around the plants. Worms and bugs will work the compost into the soil for you. If your beds are to full of plants to get compost in now, in fall or spring when every thing is dormant add the compost. If you don't have mulch, you could start to mulch, wood chips, grass clipping or any other organic matter. They would all break down and improve your soil. |
RE: How to improve my soil around perennials
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| I have the same situation - lots of well-established perennials in clay, and mulching around them with compost/grass clippings works wonders. |
RE: How to improve my soil around perennials
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| yep, plenty of green type mulching with a layer of compost under, if/when you prune the plants tuck that under the mulch as well. len |
Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page
RE: How to improve my soil around perennials
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| My garden is also an established perennial garden as well as being as organic as possible. I compost but will never be able to make enough so I make it go further by adding it to my homemade mulch. I use fine wood shavings/sawdust as the base and add compost and alfalfa tea. All mixed up it looks pretty good and is nutritious and helps with water retention and weed control. It isn't as long lasting as other coarser mulches so needs replenishing every year at least. I also often use diluted alfalfa tea when I water and occasionally bury kitchen veggie trimmings between perennials. My roses occasionally get a banana peel buried nearby for the potassium which is very good for them. IMO one needs to add something nutritious to the soil regularly to replace the nutrients the plants use to grow and look pretty. All these things help to feed the beneficial earthworms. Encouraging earthworms is a good way to improve the soil as they make castings, which are one of the best natural fertilizers, and they also improve the soil structure. I've just been weeding one of the new perennial beds we made last year and am amazed at the number of earthworms and the improvement in the soil from the original heavy clay. Feeding the earthworms feeds the soil and therefor my plants. Occasionally I've used shredded leaves and grass clippings as a mulch which also works well. Synthetic chemical fertilizers and weed killers are not beneficial to earthworms tho so don't use grass clippings as mulch if you use these. |
RE: How to improve my soil around perennials
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| Yes keep adding shredded leaves, used coffee ground mixed in if you have access to it. Leaf mold made the best mulch. You will have fat worms over time when you keep adding organic mulch. Don't worry about cultivating your soil, the winter thawing and heaving and the worms will loosen the soil for you. |
RE: How to improve my soil around perennials
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If the soil is well drained adding mulches of shredded leaves, compost, or other forms of organic matter will, over time, improve that soil. However, if your soil does not now drain very well adding mulches can, initially, make things worse by holding excess moisture in the soil whichn could result in plants rotting.
Your soil does need organic matter but how to get it there is a problem that needs some research. |
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