I don't know why you'd want to clean them? Gravel is often very useful for top dressing pots, for aesthetic reasons and for retaining moisture, or even for just covering large areas in certain situations. The red chuckies aren't very attractive though, but can be useful when mixed in through heavy soil, as long as they aren't too large. Anything bigger than about 10 - 15mm is a bit big for helping with drainage. I did that here when creating a lawn in the back garden, to counteract the heavy rainfall, and to make use of the red gravel and ugly slabs. Ironically, I decided to get rid of it last year, to make a bigger pond, and I've now got a gravel garden instead. Nicer gravel though
One thing you probably need to do is put a proper edging in though. You'll need to add organic matter to your borders to improve them, and that will mean it'll inevitably spill onto your drive. A proper edge will help retain it.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I guess just as I have scooped the travel up its taken some fag buts , other small bits rubbish etc. Its not that I want it shyny or something!
Cool, I guess like how my Mum would use broken pots in soil sometimes by the sounds of it.
Yeah edging does sound like it could be useful, another consideration, thanks for the idea
Once we do have stuff established and sorted I am keen to know if anything on top of the soil is beneficial or not - e.g you see bark chippings commonly, is that just aesthetic, or beneficial too. What alternatives are there and why etc.
Oh and at Hyde Hall there were loads of the plants you mentioned for a specimen tree, the A... One! Predictably my wife wasn't keen, bit really sure why !
Anything you put on top of the soil is useful, because it helps retain moisture and that's most important in summer, and if you're in an area of low rainfall. Most beneficial as a mulch is anything organic - compost, bark, leaf mould, manure etc. as that eventually breaks down and improves the soil. The only thing to watch out for is covering perennials with a thick layer, as that can cause rotting. Leaving a space around them is best. Shrubs, trees and woodier plants are fine, but their growing habit means that it's more difficult for that to happen anyway. Gravel is fine in certain circumstances - ie for anything that needs protection around the crown to prevent rotting, which is why it's used for alpine plants. It's also attractive if you use the right thing. The drawback of it is that if anything needs feeding, it's bit more tricky, and the gravel either needs to be drawn back, or you'd use a liquid food. Mulching is mainly for the benefit to the soil, but it's also for aesthetic purposes, and for helping to suppress weeds. All of them will help to do all three of those, apart from the gravel, which won't aid the soil.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gotcha, many thanks. Basically the gravel I'm removing has one main use for me as I see it:
* Adding a handful to a pot (more for a bigger pot) to aid soil drainage
I guess it's not worth adding any to soil in borders (either here or back garden) to aid drainage - logically it seems the same as the pot idea, but in practice it feels odd and unusual!
It won't hurt if some of the gravel gets dug into the borders. It's probably going to anyway, unless you're extremely picky about removing every last bit. You could use some to top-dress shrubs in pots if you like the colour.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I dis say you can add the gravel to the borders, in my post yesterday, when I talked about the size of it. I think you're confusing some of the info
As @JennyJ said - you can use gravel for top dressing potted plants. I mentioned that when explaining the various mulches in my earlier post today, but the red stuff you have isn't usually a popular choice for that.
For extra drainage in pots, grit or finer gravel [pea gravel] is more suitable, as it's smaller, and therefore ideal for plants which like sharper drainage.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Cool, makes sense, thanks both. We have absolutely shed loads of this gravel now. Trying to decide how much to take to the dump and what else we can reasonably use!
So the broken pot thing my Mum used to, probably still does, when potting up largish pots, i assumed that was for drainage. Is that a sensible idea, or not?!
The broken pot pieces are slightly different. They're called crocks, and are used to cover the holes in the bottom of pots. It creates a little gap between the soil and the hole. That allows excess water to drain, but stops the soil disappearing through the holes, or blocking them.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Well, the smaller side is probably about half cleared, and we had a boot full of stones to take to the tip already - quite a workout having to heave them into a container at the tip above head height!
Posts
Gravel is often very useful for top dressing pots, for aesthetic reasons and for retaining moisture, or even for just covering large areas in certain situations.
The red chuckies aren't very attractive though, but can be useful when mixed in through heavy soil, as long as they aren't too large. Anything bigger than about 10 - 15mm is a bit big for helping with drainage. I did that here when creating a lawn in the back garden, to counteract the heavy rainfall, and to make use of the red gravel and ugly slabs. Ironically, I decided to get rid of it last year, to make a bigger pond, and I've now got a gravel garden instead. Nicer gravel though
One thing you probably need to do is put a proper edging in though. You'll need to add organic matter to your borders to improve them, and that will mean it'll inevitably spill onto your drive. A proper edge will help retain it.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Cool, I guess like how my Mum would use broken pots in soil sometimes by the sounds of it.
Yeah edging does sound like it could be useful, another consideration, thanks for the idea
Once we do have stuff established and sorted I am keen to know if anything on top of the soil is beneficial or not - e.g you see bark chippings commonly, is that just aesthetic, or beneficial too. What alternatives are there and why etc.
Oh and at Hyde Hall there were loads of the plants you mentioned for a specimen tree, the A... One! Predictably my wife wasn't keen, bit really sure why
Gravel is fine in certain circumstances - ie for anything that needs protection around the crown to prevent rotting, which is why it's used for alpine plants. It's also attractive if you use the right thing. The drawback of it is that if anything needs feeding, it's bit more tricky, and the gravel either needs to be drawn back, or you'd use a liquid food.
Mulching is mainly for the benefit to the soil, but it's also for aesthetic purposes, and for helping to suppress weeds. All of them will help to do all three of those, apart from the gravel, which won't aid the soil.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
* Adding a handful to a pot (more for a bigger pot) to aid soil drainage
I guess it's not worth adding any to soil in borders (either here or back garden) to aid drainage - logically it seems the same as the pot idea, but in practice it feels odd and unusual!
As @JennyJ said - you can use gravel for top dressing potted plants. I mentioned that when explaining the various mulches in my earlier post today, but the red stuff you have isn't usually a popular choice for that.
For extra drainage in pots, grit or finer gravel [pea gravel] is more suitable, as it's smaller, and therefore ideal for plants which like sharper drainage.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
So the broken pot thing my Mum used to, probably still does, when potting up largish pots, i assumed that was for drainage. Is that a sensible idea, or not?!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Well, the smaller side is probably about half cleared, and we had a boot full of stones to take to the tip already - quite a workout having to heave them into a container at the tip above head height!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...