Establishing a garden
Planting a new garden may be a simple task. Pretty much all the contractors and sole traders would be able to do it, even if with different grade of quality. All in all, what one needs to do is to dig some holes, chuck a plant in each one, and cover the holes properly. Said so it sounds quite simple. But if planting a garden is simple (and it is not), establishing it is all another kettle of fish.
I will not go through here the process of designing or simply refurbish a garden, whit the choice of species and their positioning. Supposing that all the species have been properly chosen considering the garden features and positioned each one in the right place, what it will make the difference is ground preparation. Ground preparation accounts for the 70% of the chance of establishing a garden.
Ground preparation includes working and amending the soil properly, to improve its structure and create the best environ for the plants to grow. The first step is to loosen the soil so that the roots of the plants can easily grow and spread and break any compact layer underneath to prevent waterlog. One should work at least a 400mm layer of soil, but the deeper layers shouldn’t be brought to the surface since are poor of microorganisms and nutrients. The soil should also be made as homogenous as possible so that it will settle down evenly and reasonable free of big size debris. I usually limit the removal of debris to those of such a size that would create problems to plant and dig in the soil the rest, because all organic matter (e.g., leaves and branches) will break down in nutrients for the plants and debris like stones helps the drainage, and just make sure that any debris will resurface when the soil settles down.
The second step of ground preparation is to improve its structure and nutrient contents. Most of the soils (e.g., clay and silt) will need the addition of materials like sharp sand or horticultural grit to improve the drainage, while sandy soil requiring the opposite, like in the Breckland, are quite rare. Sometimes the soil may require a pH correction, but it’s not permanent and so expensive that it’s not worth but in extreme situations.
The last improvement that most soils require is the addition of organic matter. Organic matter creates a better soil structure, especially in clay soils, and provides important features for the microorganisms’ life. But the choice of which organic matter to use needs to be evaluated properly. One must avoid compost screened to thin and of dubious provenience, giving preference to coarse materials like mushroom compost and manure, or to even bigger particles like composted bark and woodchip.
In nature, organic matter is never present deeper than 100mm. Thus, there is no real necessity to blend it deeper. On the other hand, it is better if the draining materials is incorporated at least for the first 200mm of soil or even to 400mm, which is the depth the soil should be worked. As a thumb rule, the heavier the soil the deeper should be the improvement.
These are the basic rules to increase the chance of establish a garden properly and quickly, but many other characters may need taken account of, depending on exposure, the nature of the surrounding, existing plants, and more.
