Top soil.

[karl66]

The last few months i've been building some more raised bed's & done my usual mix of gravel/sharp sand/top soil, to cut a story short i needed some more to top up certain area's so after work i picked up a ton bag of topsoil although fairly fine it did have a fair amount of sharp sand in with it. After spreading it about & watering in i'm not really happy as it looks to sandy!! tommorow afternoon i'm thinking of picking up some compost to sprinkle on top & mix with it? is this the best option. karl.

[Yorkshire Kris]

What do you intend to plant in it?

[karl66]

Kris, it wont be anything to eat!!, either bamboo/Trachycarpus/ or maybe some sort of bush?. karl.

[Dim]

cheapest option: get some horse manure and spread it thickly ontop, then dig it in ....

many stables/farms allow you to take as much as you need for free ....

or find out if your local recycle centre makes compost/soil conditioner from the green/brown bins .... here in cambridge, we get it for free, and it's ok ...

http://www.ameycespa.com/east/free-compost-collection

[karl66]

Thanks Dim. Digging in of anything wont be a problem where no planting has taken place but some of it's been spread on bamboo area's that are already established & there's lots of new culm's emerging, so i dont really want to get digging to much here at the risk of damaging new growth!. thanks karl.

[Vagetarian]

I have the same problem with all my planters, I was kind of given a tonne of 'top soil' and felt like I had to use it. It's bloody awful, looks like sand with a bit of rust in it.

I've spent the last 3 winters emptying them out and mixing in some home made compost and spent potting soil, any organic matter to retain some moisture.

[Dave Brown]

I only use graded,bagged topsoil as the loam content in my compost. Top Soil can be anything, and you can't go back saying it's no good, as if taken from the top 9 inches, it's 'top soil' no matter what soil it's come from.

Top soil from here would be sold by the 1 ton block. When wet you can make pots from it, when dry you can sculpt it with hammer and chisel

[Vagetarian]

I only use graded,bagged topsoil as the loam content in my compost.

What brand do you use Dave? I've been using the old B&Q brand which was decent but the new Verve stuff is half peat and I'm almost out of the B&Q soil

[Dim]

I only use graded,bagged topsoil as the loam content in my compost.

What brand do you use Dave? I've been using the old B&Q brand which was decent but the new Verve stuff is half peat and I'm almost out of the B&Q soil

Verve topsoil is like a cake of damp mud, and very difficult to break down (it clumps when broken) .... I used some recently on a garden where I seeded a lawn, and where the client could not find John Innes #3 .... Verve topsoil is worst topsoil that I have ever used

[Vagetarian]

To be honest, I think it's criminal that they can even call it topsoil, it's only got slightly more actual soil than JI.

[karl66]

I totally agree with what's been said, if i could of drenched it with water first i'd never have bought it!!, although it only cost me £13.50p for half a ton, the chap bagging it filled the ton bag up!. i've bought some quality compost this afternoon & started the proccess of mixing it in, it kind of defeats the option of buying in first place. My motto in business is pay cheap pay twice . karl.

[Dave Brown]

I only use graded,bagged topsoil as the loam content in my compost.

What brand do you use Dave? I've been using the old B&Q brand which was decent but the new Verve stuff is half peat and I'm almost out of the B&Q soil

I just looked at the bag, and it's Westland Top Soil and was £3.99 for 20 ltr. You'd never use that in the garden unless you were trying to launder money - lol

[jungle jas]

The last few months I've been building some more raised bed's & done my usual mix of gravel/sharp sand/top soil, to cut a story short i needed some more to top up certain area's so after work i picked up a ton bag of topsoil although fairly fine it did have a fair amount of sharp sand in with it. After spreading it about & watering in I'm not really happy as it looks to sandy!! tomorrow afternoon I'm thinking of picking up some compost to sprinkle on top & mix with it? is this the best option. karl.

What the matter with a bit of sand? You keep saying the garden is to wet! I garden on a beach, nothing but sand. But I don't get any root problems. It can cause other problems though.