Flowerbeds are a great way to spruce up the exterior of your home, but if you're starting a flowerbed from scratch, you might run into soil issues that could make growing a flowerbed a difficult, frustrating, expensive, and fruitless task.
Flowerbeds Take Time
Before starting, you must know that creating a flowerbed from scratch is a time-consuming and laborious endeavor. You have to keep several things in mind: one, it won't happen over night; two, you're going to have to sweat and work muscles you didn't know you had; and three, you need good soil.
If the earth has never been turned in the place you want to start your flowerbed, you might be shocked at what you find once the shovel breaks the soil.
Clay and rocks are common problems that can be easily identified simply by digging and looking at the soil. Other issues like too much acidity require testing to help determine proper courses of action.
Build It Into The Budget
If you have soil problems you're going to have to reconsider your budget. If you have acid problems, you'll need to consult a professional. If you have clay or rock issues in your flowerbed, you're going to need to buy a lot of dirt.
You could try to skip this process and spend all your budget on plants and flowers, but keep in mind that if the foundation isn't good, the plants won't flourish and many will die either because they can't get the proper nutrients or they get choked out by weeds.
Size Is Important
The size of the flowerbed is key when deciding the best way to tackle bad soil issues.
If the bed is small, you might want to consider digging down several feet and then filling the space with a better grade soil. You can use the bad dirt to fill in holes around fences or in the yard and other places where soil grade isn't a priority.
If you have a large bed and don't own a small Bobcat and don't want to get a dump truck's load of dirt, try replacing the soil a little bit at a time.
Start with a few plants and dig holes big enough to allow for at least two season's growth. Fill the hole with high grade compost, soil, and fertilizer before planting. If you do that every season, in a few seasons the bed will be filled with quality, nutrient-rich soil, perfect for plants and vegetables.
Raise A Bed
If you don't want to invest much sweat into the process, raised beds are a good way to dodge bad soil issues.
Raised beds can be purchased at most do-it-yourself home and gardening stores, but making your own bed is easy and fairly cheap. All you need is four pieces of wood, some screws, and if you're feeling professional, a level.
Once the frame is assembled simply fill it with quality soil and start planting.
Raised beds are good for plants and vegetables and can give an aesthetic appeal to the garden, but they can require a bit of maintenance in the long run. With raised beds the soil must be turned and replenished every couple of seasons, but then again that can be said for any flowerbed.
All in all, planting and tending for a flowerbed can be a strenuous task, but flowerbeds can also be extremely rewarding and increase your home's curb appeal. If you want to decrease the frustration and increase the satisfaction, get your hands dirty and start with the soil before planting anything. Your pocketbook and plants will thank you later.
Before starting, you must know that creating a flowerbed from scratch is a time-consuming and laborious endeavor. You have to keep several things in mind: one, it won't happen over night; two, you're going to have to sweat and work muscles you didn't know you had; and three, you need good soil.
If the earth has never been turned in the place you want to start your flowerbed, you might be shocked at what you find once the shovel breaks the soil.
Clay and rocks are common problems that can be easily identified simply by digging and looking at the soil. Other issues like too much acidity require testing to help determine proper courses of action.
Build It Into The Budget
If you have soil problems you're going to have to reconsider your budget. If you have acid problems, you'll need to consult a professional. If you have clay or rock issues in your flowerbed, you're going to need to buy a lot of dirt.
You could try to skip this process and spend all your budget on plants and flowers, but keep in mind that if the foundation isn't good, the plants won't flourish and many will die either because they can't get the proper nutrients or they get choked out by weeds.
Size Is Important
The size of the flowerbed is key when deciding the best way to tackle bad soil issues.
If the bed is small, you might want to consider digging down several feet and then filling the space with a better grade soil. You can use the bad dirt to fill in holes around fences or in the yard and other places where soil grade isn't a priority.
If you have a large bed and don't own a small Bobcat and don't want to get a dump truck's load of dirt, try replacing the soil a little bit at a time.
Start with a few plants and dig holes big enough to allow for at least two season's growth. Fill the hole with high grade compost, soil, and fertilizer before planting. If you do that every season, in a few seasons the bed will be filled with quality, nutrient-rich soil, perfect for plants and vegetables.
Raise A Bed
If you don't want to invest much sweat into the process, raised beds are a good way to dodge bad soil issues.
Raised beds can be purchased at most do-it-yourself home and gardening stores, but making your own bed is easy and fairly cheap. All you need is four pieces of wood, some screws, and if you're feeling professional, a level.
Once the frame is assembled simply fill it with quality soil and start planting.
Raised beds are good for plants and vegetables and can give an aesthetic appeal to the garden, but they can require a bit of maintenance in the long run. With raised beds the soil must be turned and replenished every couple of seasons, but then again that can be said for any flowerbed.
All in all, planting and tending for a flowerbed can be a strenuous task, but flowerbeds can also be extremely rewarding and increase your home's curb appeal. If you want to decrease the frustration and increase the satisfaction, get your hands dirty and start with the soil before planting anything. Your pocketbook and plants will thank you later.
