I live on a natural hill, or so I thought, until I started digging and hit rock less than six inches in. Between natural rock, discarded bricks, tiles and plastic, I am in hell.
PLASTIC?!It’s OK it was an empty bag of fertiliser, that’s good, right?
Would raised beds help?
Probably. I am a newbie. I will remember to try this if the Jasmine I’m planting dies.
You will be much happier if you can afford to install some raised beds. They don’t have to be gorgeous or cost a fortune, but if you can control around a foot of soil in terms of composition you can grow nearly anything you want to (climate permitting.)
If you don’t want to do traditional raised beds hugelkultur is an excellent option as well, this will amend your soil over time.
If you can’t afford full raised beds and can’t hack a mound, go for pots. Pots and soil can be had for very low cost and will allow you to be successful, the main thing is to not get too discouraged by setting yourself up to struggle when you’re first starting out.
Seems like Jasmine does better in the ground. I have some Brazilian jasmine in a pot that’s super fickle and has to be regularly fertilized or it starts to die back. Highly recommend some raised beds if you decide to grow any vegetables.
Lavender grows great in terrible soil if you just want some pretty flowers.
I live in Scotland and the soil is majority clay ;_;
Gonna buy some grit and sand and stuff and try my best.
Trying to modify soil texture is generally impractical. You’d be adding a lot more sand than you’d expect to get marginal improvements.
Your best bet is to add organic material, which will have a dramatic effect and improve your soil structure in the long run
I have done this too, although I am told Jasmine will kind of wilt (not the right word) if there is too much nitrogen in the soil. That sounds good though, thanks for the tip.
HEY… WHY ARE YOU IN MY GARDEN!
Also… depending on what you’re going for, you might want to start working on raised beds.
If you’ve got the money, undyed wood mulch is pretty solid. It will keep the 6 inches of soil covered and in place around where you plant things and as it breaks down will slowly build up the soil.
If there are shrubs growing, cut them back and use the cuttings to build a hugelkultur. This way you don’t need to buy nearly as much soil as for regular raised beds. This bedding works great with the three sisters.
