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hard earth
jackthecat
Posts: 29
afternoon
pottering in my garden, as you do, I discovered that the earth in one of our borders is very hard. It gets quite a lot of direct sun I think.
Does it matter, and it is anything to do with why our lilies did so appallingly badly this year? I had blamed that on the twin cannons of slug and lily beetle. Actually, it's only one type of lily that's done badly, which makes me think it's more likely to be sensitivity to pests.
Should one dig over a border? I can't really, cos it's full of bulbs...
thanks
0
Posts
Hi jackthecat, add some horse manure in the autumn as a thick mulch, the worms in it will do the digging for you and your bulbs will not be disturbed, plus it will hold moisture better.
Lilies like lots of water and food but not poor drainage, are you on clay soil? I always do mine in pots, when I had some in the border they were much smaller and more difficult to check for pests. You could mulch the border each year to keep moisture in and improve soil structure over time and if you get a dry spell water them. We've had 3 weeks of sun and I've had to water my wet, shady border because it had dried solid.
ok mulching. I like it
thanks
The mulch goes on top, see what gina and Mrs G said
In the sticks near Peterborough
Hi Pauline. You can leave it as a mulch. The worms will do the rest. Just make sure its well rotted else it burns the foliage of plants.
Yeah, I put it on top and leave it to the worms. Life's too busy to dig
An old gardeners saying "If in doubt.....Mulch!"