Soils, Fertilizers, Etc FAQs
What would you recommend to improve a clay soil?
I have inherited from the previous owner a sack full of lime. How can I use it on my garden and plants?
Assuming that your sack contains Garden Lime (Calcium carbonate) and not builders lime you can use the lime to apply to your soil. However, you should check that your soil needs it first. Do a check of the pH of the soil (test kits are widely available from garden centres) and, if your soil's pH is below 6.5, then you could apply the lime this autumn as long as you are not intending to grow lime hating plants such as Rhododendrons, Azaleas and summer flowering heathers. Some plants, like Clematis, Dianthus and Brassicas actually like lime and all plants need some lime to enable them to access other key nutrients for growth. Some nutrients are rendered inaccessible to plants when the soil is either too acid (low pH) or too alkaline (high pH). Over the years the pH of soils generally drops due to the addition of compost and due to rainwater being slightly acidic.
What would you recommend to improve a clay soil?
Dig in plenty of organic matter such as Westland Farmyard Manure or spent mushroom compost. In the autumn you should also dig in a product called ?Clay Breaker? that is based on gypsum. This makes the clay particles stick together to form a crumb structure and this will make it easier to ?work?. You could add grit to the soil [not sand which can make matters worse if too fine] but you will need to add a large amount to have any real impact.