So we recently made our first flower bed on our front garden which looks amazing! However, we’ve noticed that after a couple of days, a few of our new plants have started wilting. I noticed this morning after watering that even when the top layer is completely soaked, not even a centimetre below is still completely bone dry and I can’t seem to get anything to work?! Any ideas?
What is wrong with my soil?
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What type of soil do you have? Sandy? Silty? Clay. Either way it does sound as if you need to add a lot of humus type material into it. That would improve the water retention of the soil.
Definitely heavily sand based soil! We did add some store bought compost before we planted. Is there anything in particular you would recommend?
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Basically what ever you can get hold of easily. Well rotted manure is best though.
Okay, I’ll see what I can do, thank you!
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If you have a great deal of sand then you need carbon and one of the longest lasting versions of that idea is bio-char. Not all soils need this, but sands and sand like soils do, as well as soil in wet environs where organic material and liming agents get leached away by constant rain. The charcoals work against water loss and serve as reservoirs of nutrients. Another version of this idea is spreading or spraying humates like humic acid. Another version of this idea is the use of organic fertilizers as well as compost. The fresher versions and especially mulch contribute to developing a healthy soil biodome.
Being reduced to a more elemental form of carbon the char idea is more impervious to weathering and washing away, where the more organic versions like compost are edible and do in fact get used in the food chain. The further reduction of compost in this food chain is why we say it "disappears" and have to add it every year.
If you do make your own char consider soaking the char in buckets with a organic liquid fertilizer for at least a week before you use it. Fresh char has a lot of surface area and will suck up oxygen and nutrients until it gets "full" and ready to participate in soil cycles.
Being reduced to a more elemental form of carbon the char idea is more impervious to weathering and washing away, where the more organic versions like compost are edible and do in fact get used in the food chain. The further reduction of compost in this food chain is why we say it "disappears" and have to add it every year.
If you do make your own char consider soaking the char in buckets with a organic liquid fertilizer for at least a week before you use it. Fresh char has a lot of surface area and will suck up oxygen and nutrients until it gets "full" and ready to participate in soil cycles.
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Bio char is not easily available in Britain.
See that you are in Norfolk. See if anyone is doing any dredging of the rivers nearby and see if you can get hold of the sludge they dig out.
See that you are in Norfolk. See if anyone is doing any dredging of the rivers nearby and see if you can get hold of the sludge they dig out.
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I burn debris in a small fire and quench with water. There are other ways as well. Perhaps you can find a scorched politician?
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Burning wood which is not kiln dried is frowned upon in Britain and may be made illegal before long.
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If one were to use perlite dug in or perhaps even vermiculite dug in then it would last a long time as well. My favorite mulch is hardwood bark because it becomes a nice compost over time as it journeys downwards.
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Are you even sure the water is soaking in and not running off?
Was this area hard and dry before hand? I do not have the proper name but sometimes soil can get so dry it takes a lot to break the surface tension.
The area right around my foundation is like this . It gets so dry and hot the water almost beads up on it. I mixed in a lot of fresh compost turned and watered it turned it again.
You could try wetting agents?
Another dry spot in my yard that has a slope to it I drove 1.5”x 16” pipe in a few spots around the bushes and fill those and let them soak in .
I also pitch fork around compacted areas in my lawn.
So, I think it may have been something like this. I think the compost we bought may have been a bit dried out! I’ve since given it a water with the hose on a reasonably high pressure to really incorporate the compost with the original soil and since that, the soil seems to be retaining the water so much better and the plant are starting to pick up again! I’m hoping that that was the main issue as now when I water, it is draining much better rather than just sitting on top!
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I have sandy loam soil and the same problem - water runs over the surface without soaking in. It's not easy with flowers but when I plant shrubs I create a dip on planting so that the plant sits lower than the surface, at least three inches. I can then surround the plant with a little compost to hold moisture and at the same time create a dip to hold the water.