In the Chicagoland area.
I'm getting a good size of my front yard ready for a native plant installation and I may have made a bad soil choice. I'm making a raised bed and saw a good deal on soil at a big box depot store. (across the street from me don't judge me)
I saw bags of all purpose miracle gro garden soil for in ground use and loaded up on it.
Now after putting all of that soil down I'm reading that I've made a mistake. How bad of a mistake is this?
I know that most plants are adapted to kinda "eh" soil already but figured for a first year planting that they could use a "boost." Did I research anything about that? No. Just went on vibes and want a giant Penstemon full of hummingbirds, I'm also tired of looking at grass.
by Kroviq
25 Comments
It’s fine. You spent more money than you needed to, but the garden soil won’t ruin your garden.
I wouldn’t worry at all. I avoid bagged soil because it’s expensive, but it will be fine. I’d throw some compost over the top and then mulch after planting.
It’s called a happy accident.
My natives always try to make a move on my compost enriched garden soil where I grow the food for me. They will be fine!
Plants adapt.
The real potential downside is that your plants will likely flop the first several years. It depends on the plants, but say, prairie plants don’t get a ton of extra organic nutrients compared to woodland plants that grow in duff and decaying leaves.
But in the long run it will be fine.
Liking the logs across the front.
Theres nothing wrong with that soil
Hügelkutlur.
You can use home center bags but, obviously doing full bore hügelkutlur will give you longer term benefits. Don’t worry about it this season. Incorporate what you do into your prep for next year
Just plant your stuff closer together than you normally would so they can hold each other up in case they get super tall from all the nutrients 🙂
I love how much Chicagoland is represented in this sub. Hi from the north burbs
You could use this area for food gardening or transfer the soil to raised beds, grow bags, or 5 gallon buckets if you want to use it up natives will still getminate, they just don’t need all the excess nutrition from the bagged soil.
What would be the preferred soil? Just do compost?
“Harvest” the juicy, over fertilized plant matter for the next few years and the soil will lean out and become ideal. Harvesting can be taking cut flowers, cutting back to promote branching, and definitely removing and composting everything at end of season (as opposed to chop and drop in place, which will maintain fertility at a high level).
It depends on what you plant. Some species may be floppy or burn themselves out if the soil is too rich.
I have not had any problem with bagged soils although since I found a place that sells local soil with manure added I prefer to get that since I can just bring 5 gallon buckets to fill, and it’s much cheaper, around $2 per bucket. Or they will bring a dump truck of it to you, $40/cubic yd plus delivery fee.
Did you put it on the ground or did you mix it in with the native soil?
If not, I’d do that. You’d be cutting the bagged stuff with native soil and you’d be digging down and giving more depth for plants. Roots don’t like to go through texture changes. So if it’s just bagged soil ontop of native soil, the roots will stop there for the most part.
What great potential…best wishes for a wonderful natural landscape
It’ll be fine. Over time, it’ll all become “dirt”.
I’m not seeing any mistake here!
i had something like this happen too
This is actually the title of my autobiography
Lost money but didn’t harm the garden.
If you add any more beds, instead of bagged soil, look for a local landscaping supply place, or somewhere similar place that deals with bulk materials. You can generally get a few cubic yards of screened local topsoil or garden soil delivered for way cheaper than buying a ton of bagged soil
I did everything “wrong” too. I laid out a ton of cardboard, spread a couple inches of bagged soil and compost on top, plopped my plants on top of the cardboard wherever there was room with zero advance planning, and then added a few inches of woodchips.
That was 2 years ago. 90% of what I planted is thriving and spreading, and now I’m giving away native plants to my friends and neighbors. A few plants had to be replaced or moved (cardinal flower and coneflower seem to hate my growing conditions) but overall it’s a healthy pollinator garden and I love it.
Keep in minds the words of Bob Ross – “no mistakes, just happy accidents.” Your garden is going to be awesome!