Soil help

gardenman91

Hello, so I’m wondering what the best way is for me to improve my soil. There are already plants in the ground so sadly incorporating organic mature isn’t really an option. The first two pictures show my current soil, the first picture showing it dry and cracked and the second picture showing it wet. I have some blended manure from a garden centre which is shown in the 3rd picture but I’ve been told it’s dry, I don’t quite understand what is meant by this.

Is the only way for me to improve my soil would be to mulch with this blended manure in autumn and spring? Sorry for the really long post!

Many thanks

JennyJ

That manure doesn't look dry to me! I think the best thing would be to wait until you've had a decent amount of rain and the ground is nice and damp, then mulch with the manure. Leave a little gap around the base of each plant - it shouldn't touch the stems.

gardenman91

Hi Jenny

Thank you for the reply sadly we are not due rain for a little while! What can I do if the ground has cracked close to my plants? It’s hard to get my fork in! As for the manure being dry, when it does dry out it’s got quite a bit of thin wood shavings in it. Almost like larger versions of pencil shavings? How thick should I mulch?

steephill

I would aim for a mulch layer of at least a couple of inches (5cm) thick if possible, up to double that if you have enough material. Water the ground first before spreading the manure and it will help retain moisture.

gardenman91

Ok sounds good I shall do that many thanks!