Border soil improver & direct seed growing

Marsheee

Hi all,

I’ve just bought a load of farmland manure & multi purpose compost to mix and dig into my border to help improve soil.

However, I’m about to spread seeds into & sporadically through the border also which consist of poppy seeds, calendula & wild flower seeds. 

My question is, will the soil be too rich for these seeds if I dig in the manure and compost? 

I’ve heard some seeds don’t do very well in soil that is too rich.

If it’s too rich, how do I go about improving the border soil without ruining the spread of seeds?

Should I try and just dig in the good stuff in areas around other plants and where I plan to plant later and leave patches without it for the seeds? 

Thanks 🤓🌱
Rosie

BobTheGardener

I would dig-in the manure first, then rake and mix some MPC into the surface and sow into that.  This method also works on heavy clay - I use a thin layer of MPC raked-in to the surface to help with the germination of direct sown veg seeds, such as carrot and parsnips, otherwise I get very poor germination indeed.

Marsheee

BobTheGardener said:

I would dig-in the manure first, then rake and mix some MPC into the surface and sow into that.  This method also works on heavy clay - I use a thin layer of MPC raked-in to the surface to help with the germination of direct sown veg seeds, such as carrot and parsnips, otherwise I get very poor germination indeed.

Oh brill, thank you 👍🏻. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻🌱