Home Page
   Articles
       links
About Us    
Traders        
Recipes            
Latest Articles
Acidic soil preparation for raised beds

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Downsizer Forum Index -> Grow Your Own
Author 
 Message
mattswanathome



Joined: 24 Jul 2013
Posts: 5
Location: mid Wales
PostPosted: Wed Jul 24, 13 9:21 am    Post subject: Acidic soil preparation for raised beds Reply with quote
    

Hi, I wonder if anyone can advise me. I recently bought 6 acres of mixed woodland and open scrub in mid Wales, part of which I want to grow veg on. This area, which is flat, was covered in large clumps of soft rush which I have removed by hand, leaving mostly bare earth and a few patches of grass and other vegetation. The soil is clay and in some places stony, and is strongly acidic (pH 5). It has been left fallow for many years, prior to that it was grazed by sheep. There are quite a few tree stumps dotted around.

I want to create raised beds, ideally to start planting next year. I know the soil needs lime to raise the pH level, and I'm aware that I need to wait at least 3 months after that before adding compost (which counteracts the lime's effects).

If I lime the whole area and then create raised beds my concern is the lime only affects the top few centimetres of soil, which may mean during the creation of the raised beds I use soil which hasn't been touched by the lime.

If I create the raised beds first using compost or manure and then add lime to the tops of them, then the compost presumably counteracts the lime's effect.

Can anyone advise the best approach?

cassy



Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland
PostPosted: Wed Jul 24, 13 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We have acid soil too and have made raised veg beds on top of the native soil by adding only compost. This is the second year of production and it seems to have worked well. I guess that with yearly additions of compost/manure the acidity of the underlying soil should be tempered even with the heavy rainfall we have.

We used Local Authority compost and followed Charles Dowding's raised bed method. Yesterday when lifting the early potatoes I noticed that although most of the underlying turf was dead and rotted, some grass/rush shoots were still viable (after 2 years), so another reason for using a no-dig method!

The main thing I would do differently (which may not affect you) would be to remove (or mulch much more heavily), some of the areas of rush which managed to puncture the weed membrane I laid under the bark paths and also to push up through the cardboard and compost of some of the beds. It's not a big problem but would have been easier to deal with at the beginning.

Good luck with your project!

Finsky



Joined: 10 Sep 2011
Posts: 847
Location: Notts.
PostPosted: Wed Jul 24, 13 2:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

There is no problem mixing lime and compost...it is the urea in manure that the lime is going to react with if anything.
All the commercial multipurpose composts have lime in to adjust the PH levels.
Your 'strongly acidic' soil sound wonderful!...just the job to plant some blueberry bushes in! ..they are soooo much easier to look after when planted in ground rather than containers ( when conditions are not right)..plant 6 large growing varieties, few different sorts and in couple of years you get LOADS of berries out of them...BLUEBERRY PIE!.. MMMMM

DorsetScott



Joined: 23 Oct 2011
Posts: 500
Location: Bournemouth
PostPosted: Wed Jul 24, 13 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Finsky wrote:
BLUEBERRY PIE!.. MMMMM


Bluebeena (think ribena with blueberries) or blueberry wine for me, one of the best wines I've ever made. Bloomin expensive when you get them from a PYO though

Sorry for the thread hijack!

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Thu Jul 25, 13 5:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Having the opposite problem of being on chalk, I don't know a lot about acid soil, but I would do as little work on the soil as possible. As Cassy suggests, I would put weed membrane down and use compost as far as possible. Apart from the large amount of lime you would need to neutralise the whole area, you could be doing a lot of damage to the local ecosystem by trying. The odd acid bed for things like blueberry would be an advantage too.

mattswanathome



Joined: 24 Jul 2013
Posts: 5
Location: mid Wales
PostPosted: Thu Jul 25, 13 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

thanks for the suggestions everyone. Has anyone tried hugelkultur raised beds?

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 13 6:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Just had a look at them. If you use it, make sure that the tree isn't suffering from anything that might be passed on to plants such as phytophthora. Have just been to a meeting on plant disease so aware of this as a problem. As the wood rots it will also make a hole in the bed too.

An alternative I am trying this year is to add charcoal to the soil. We have lots of spare fines from our charcoal burning, so am trying it as the charcoal will also hold lots of water, and should also absorb and slowly release nutrients too.

Post new topic   Reply to topic    Downsizer Forum Index -> Grow Your Own All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1
View Latest Posts View Latest Posts

 

Archive
Powered by php-BB © 2001, 2005 php-BB Group
Style by marsjupiter.com, released under GNU (GNU/GPL) license.
Copyright © 2004 marsjupiter.com