You cannot grow a $50 tree in a $5 hole! It’s just a saying but it tends to explain why so many novice gardeners have their challenges with growing vibrant, healthy plants.
At The Greenhouse, we go the extra mile with explaining about good soil. Most new gardeners have been told that ‘black turf’ is a natural phenomena that can be easily stolen from roadsides or delivered by contractors that excavate development areas. The truth? Good soil takes work and commitment. There is simply no easy way out.
Here’s our re-definitions of some of the common myths about ‘good’ soil:
- Black turf/soil: this is the a fairly hot commodity of novice gardeners looking to save a few dollars by backing their truck into a roadside bank and undermining the soil. Roadside soils are usually highly disturbed outcrops of the road construction process and vary significantly from soils that have formed in place. In particular, roadside soils are generally compacted, high in salts, acidic, and low in organic matter and plant-available nutrients. If you have nothing to start with, if better than nothing. Please add lots of lime, peat moss and compost to give it the boost it needs.
- Contractor grade fill: This is a bit of a pet peeve or ours but here we go... Most contractors have a piece of machinery that sifts the ‘earth’ of large
- stones and rocks... that’s it! You still have to add peat moss and compost and, more than likely, lime.
Be careful and spend time researching your soil sources. At The Greenhouse, we make our own blend of outdoor soil with peat moss, compost and sited earth. We are still only selling by the 20 litre bag but hope to be increasing production capacity over the next few years.
Mulch... we only use and sell 100% Newfoundland sawmill natural bark mulch. Buy it in bulk or by the 40 litre bag. No dyes to fade and discolour. Simply amend every year or so for that freshly planted look. Placing your mulch 4 inches thick will prevent most of those weeds from returning. For best results, use at least a 3 to 5 oz landscape fabric on top of your soil and top with mulch.
Call us with the size of your job and we can guide you to some of the best product available. |
