Moved into a new place and there was a raised garden bed that was over grown with grass and weeds. Managed to clear it out to a decent degree, but wondering if the soil is good or would need to be dug up and replaced?
You would need at least a home soil test kit to determine if the current soil has any nutrient value to it. Or you can just amend it with fresh compost, manures and worm castings. You will also need to check the drainage.
Is it easy to dig? Soft? Or is it really hard.
rickg
No, but I’d do a couple of things:
See how compacted it is. Grab something stiff, like rebar or a metal rod and push it into the ground. How far does it go before it stops. IF it’s very compacted (stops a few inches in), use a broadfork or similar to loosen it.
Dig down a bit with a trowel – is therelife there? Or is it compacted and dead? YOu might want to get a soil test. If you’re in King County there are free tests available
Add some compost on top of this – 1-2″ is fine.
Sharp-Wheel-5105
I’d cover that with tarp kill the weed seeds , cover for a month with full sun hitting that.
Then soil test for NPK.
Add what’s lacking
t0mt0mt0m
Just do a soil test, a jar to see how it drains etc or if your more serious pants, mail it in for a test for npk and get recommendations for amending.
4 Comments
You would need at least a home soil test kit to determine if the current soil has any nutrient value to it. Or you can just amend it with fresh compost, manures and worm castings. You will also need to check the drainage.
Is it easy to dig? Soft? Or is it really hard.
No, but I’d do a couple of things:
See how compacted it is. Grab something stiff, like rebar or a metal rod and push it into the ground. How far does it go before it stops. IF it’s very compacted (stops a few inches in), use a broadfork or similar to loosen it.
Dig down a bit with a trowel – is therelife there? Or is it compacted and dead? YOu might want to get a soil test. If you’re in King County there are free tests available
Add some compost on top of this – 1-2″ is fine.
I’d cover that with tarp kill the weed seeds , cover for a month with full sun hitting that.
Then soil test for NPK.
Add what’s lacking
Just do a soil test, a jar to see how it drains etc or if your more serious pants, mail it in for a test for npk and get recommendations for amending.