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Rejuvenating soil

• Message 1. 

  Posted by CelSue (U5036102) on Saturday, 17th March 2012

  I'm clearing a thicket at the end of the garden where a lot of rubbish was dumped , soil, flower pots, rubble, bones of a dog... I was wondering what the best way is to regenerate the soil into decent compost. Anyone got any ideas?
  
  I guess putting it in the compost bin and mixing manure through it would help
  
  Thanks,
  
  CelSue

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by jo4eyes (U13654107) on Saturday, 17th March 2012

  One way, not nec the best or easiest, is to dig it over a bit, when cleared.
  Then dig a trench across it & fill with compostable waste say from the kitchen (but watch eyes on potato peelings unless you want to grow potatoes) & cover the filled trench with soil. Continue doing this across the patch & even after a few weeks, but months better, you'll have a decent loam to plant into. I try to do this for my runner bean/sweetpea trench each year.
  
  One bed, after several years, of this now does have pretty good soil.
  
  I'd also put as much of your compost/ well rotten manure into/ontop of it & let the worms do the work. J.

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by zoomer44 (U14019069) on Saturday, 17th March 2012

  You could double dig the area.
  
  Dig a trench at least a spade deep, - (putting the soil in a wheel barrow) put a good layer of manure or mushroom compost in the trench then dig another trench along side filling in the first with the soil from this trench, put in another good layer of manure or compost and keep digging along side your trenches till you come to the end of the area to be improved. It will need to be well rotted manure or mushroom compost if you plan to plant right away.
  
  It's hard work but well worth it at the end, I dug over a new flower bed last year using the double dig method on clay soil and it's alot better to work now. There are loads of worms in the bed and hardly any weeds have grown.
  
  

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by CelSue (U5036102) on Monday, 19th March 2012

  Thanks for this, I'll give the ideas a go. I was also wondering how to regenerate the topsoil I'll take off (they've mounded soil up - could be compost, could be other soil). I was going to pile it into a compost bin and turn with manure (I can't generate enough kitchen waste to cover my veg patch and the other area left after I level the soil off.
  
  Fingers crossed it'll produce good compost!
  
  CelSue

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by georgeandrewwilson (U15165385) on Tuesday, 20th March 2012

  Just to add my "tuppence worth"
  Why not try a crop of potatoes as these are very good at clearing the ground and leaving thye soil much more workable

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