What is the best way to ammend average garden soil for a perrenial flower bed?

Answer 1

I love to use compost. I don't know if it's readily available across the nation, but where I live, you can get yards of compost at the same places you get barkdust - and it's pretty cheap. I've stopped putting barkdust in my yard and use compost yearly. I have the best soil and my plants flourish! Weeding is effortless because the weeds just pull right up with an easy tug. Planting new flowers is easy too since the shovel slides right in. So I would suggest you get compost and mix it in about 50/50 with the dirt that is in your flower bed. It will be a bit of work at first, but after you get it established, you will only need to add about a 2" layer each year to keep the soil nice and rich. It's worth it!

Answer 2

Pine bark or peat moss.. or a little of both. many commercial potting mixes (like miracle grow or schultz) make pretty good amendments. The pH buffers and fertilizers added help with microbiotic activity in the soil and add organic value to it.

Answer 3

Kind of depends on existing conditions( clay, Ph, etc). A good general recipe is; till in peat moss,dried blood, dehydrated manure and perlite.

Answer 4

MIX IN SOME PEAT MOSS,A LITTLE FERTILIZER, IF THE SOIL HAS A LOT OF CLAY A LITTLE SAND,SOME LIME IF ACIDIC AND LAST SOME GOOD POTTING MIX

Answer 5

Compost, compost, compost.