Perennial Bed Soil


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Old 08-14-03, 11:00 AM
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Question Perennial Bed Soil

Hi.

I have a 250 sq. ft. perennial bed that I am looking to double in size this fall. I also want to add a couple of 2 ft. tall berms to give the flat bed some texture.

Here's my dilemma:

I have some "free" dirt that I have access to in order to build the berms. This soil comes from the bottom and surrounding area of a dredged pond/swamp on a local golf course.

Is it worth my while to use this dirt, or will I have to do too much to make it acceptable to grow many varieties of perennials (astilbe, rose, iris, hosta, etc)? The price is certainly right, so I'd like to use it if I can get away with it.

If I CAN use it, what do I likely need to do to amend the soil for successful growing?

Thanks for your help.

Travis.
 
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Old 08-14-03, 04:52 PM
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Here is a howto on bulding good soil

http://www.doityourself.com/garden/b...ggreatsoil.htm

This dredging spoil may be some of the nastiest, yucky mess you ever saw, but may be extremely rich. It will need to have some mulch or compost of some sort tilled into it. Depending upon how soon it comes from the swamp, it may need to drain before you can work it.

It might be worthwhile to check the price of an equivalent amount of topsoil from a nursery, just for comparison.

Hope this helps.
 
 

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