New build: Suspect my soil is sterile/subsoil. Any suggestions?

Steph17

Not a worm to be seen 😢. I would prefer to nurse it back to goodness if possible. I don’t really like shipping soil in. Any ideas would be gratefully received. We have put turf on a lot of it, so just the beds/veg patch. Thanks 

raisingirl

Mulch with well rotted manure. Build it and they will come 

Steph17

Thanks raisingirl. I will. I need to post this in the right forum also.....

Pauline 7

No need to repost it Steph most people will see it here. 

Steph17

Oh sorry, done It now... oops

wild edges

Mulch is the way forward, and keep things chemical free. If you can fit a compost heap in somewhere too then that will help. Our new build didn't have a scrap of top soil when we started 10 years ago and now I'm always amazed by how many worms the starlings can extract from my tiny lawn. All I did was heavily mulch the planted areas a couple of times a year. We also kept rabbits for a while which did wonders from fertilising the lawn although their hard work was a bit undone by their prolific digging.

Enjoy the early years of no weeds and no pests because they all turn up eventually

Steph17

There are horses opposite us, so I think I might add manure to compost to get it going. Thanks all. 😀

Fire

Steph, just make sure not to plant into fresh manure for six months to a year. I know people who do and have no problem, but the consensus is to wait.

Steph17

Yes, thanks. I am putting the manure into the composter with everything else, to try and really get that going. I know I shouldn’t plant our in fresh manure.
I wish I had brought worms with me from my old composter, but I had enough to deal with, moving, and forgot. I have asked at the garden centre for worms (as they do aquatics) and they said they might be able to get me some. 🤞