Freaky Soil - What Does This Mean?.......

Lori (from Canada) is very good at soil testing etc, so I've sent her a little private message for you, asking her to take a look at this blog, if she gets a spare moment.

Seems to me you have stripes of different kinds of soil.
And, yes, I think this is right to be a blog.

After all, you kindly answered my very long question, under your garden picture which was in photos section . Maybe my question should have been in Questions.LOL
[ I took your advice and gave plants a little luke warm water early in the day ]

Interesting blog. I'm sure you'll get some very knowledgeable answers. :o)

thanks TT, appreciate that, I don't think this is due to strips of soil, it seems pretty much the same all over, once it defrosts i'll check that though and take tests from all around the garden. and yes good idea, i have just done a few of mine, the ground is still a bit on the frozen side, but a lot milder today, and quite a few clouds about, hoping for a bit of rain.

"Look East" TV weather lady said staying coldish till Monday, then rain. :o)

looks like good stuf to me everything in your garden looks so healthy, and a clay soil holds so much more in the way of minerals, Happy gardening,

oh well, never mind, glad i did a bit of watering today then TT lol.

Thanks Funkyfuchsia, i am pleased with this situation, and yes everything does grow very well, except the Narines ofcourse, - still i can always put them in a pot, with a bit of soil based multipurpose can't I, i guess the high population of worms kind of says a lot,.just a bit miffed by the acidic clay thing going on, acid soil is usually low in neutriants, or so i thought. lol the wonders of nature!

Hiya,
Now that you have done a ph test and you have an acidic soil you can now discover the 'construction' of your soil....
You might wish to try the following......
To determine the amount of clay in your soil you can do a simple test as well to determine the ratio of different particles in your soil. Half fill a lidded glass container with soil then add water until the jar is three quarters full. Replace the lid and shake vigorously for up to two minutes or longer until all the particles are suspended in the water. Store in a dark place for at least several days.. The particles will eventually settle into stratified layers.This is known as 'Brownian movement'. Eventually the largest particles (sand) will sink to the bottom and the finest (clay) will rise to the top. By measuring the total height of the layers you can work out the proportion of sand, clay, silt and organic matter in the water.The organic particles generally float on or near the surface.
A denser, thicker layer of clay will show a predominantly clay soil or a wider layer of sand will show a predominantly sandy soil.... etc etc.
Clay soils can be acidic and do retain their nutrients, and, as you know the texture can be improved by adding grit and compost.
Hope this helps.
All best wishes,
Grenville.

Yes, clay soil can be acid. Here in chilly Bracknell, we have London clay to the north and Bagshot Sands to the south of the town. My garden is right on the boundary between the two types as I have clay on one side, loam over a clay subsoil on the other and a couple of patches of sand in the middle! I tested the soil in several different parts of the garden when I moved in and, despite the different soil types, they all came up with the same reading - slightly acid.
I also find that this acid clay is very fertile and obviously not low in nutrients either. The large number of worms you have is a good indication too. I am growing nerines quite happily as well as dianthus and clematis (which are supposedly lime lovers). The only things I have had problems with over the years are scabious and helleborus niger.

thank you both, this is all making much more sense to me now. Yes i will try that Grenville, would be interesting to know, exactly what the soil i made of. it's really interesting to find out as much as you can about your growing conditions especially in a new garden. and Andrew, yes i have had problems with Helleborus niger, i bought 6 autumn 2007, i have put them in various places in both front and back gardens, i only have 2 left now and they have never flowered. I have several varieties of Dianthus, that all seem quite happy, and i have 1 white Scabious that has also been lovely, mind you i do feed with lots of miricle grow through the summer maybe this has helped. Most Clematis seem to like this new garden as well, i have had a few problems with the winter flowering varieties that i have tried, i have bought C. 'Freckles' twice now planted in different spots and it has died pretty quickly both times, and i recently planted a C.'Wisely Cream' which is another evergreen winter flowering vareity. it did'nt look too good for a while, but does seem to have picked up since, new in last year, and no flowers, but at least not dead yet. but my spring and summer flowering varieties seem to be thriving. maybe this is because the summer flowering varieties get plenty of food when they need it most, but i don't put any miricle grow about this time of year for obvious reasons, is there something i could give the winter flowering varieties this time of year to help them out? maybe it would work for the Helleborus too?

What time of year did you plant clematis 'Freckles'? It goes into a summer dormancy (about July and August time) which is its way of coping with conditions in the Mediterranean which is its native home. It then shoots again in September. I have C.cirrhosa var balearica which is similar and does precisely that.
Helleborus niger really needs heavy alkaline soil. I've tried it several times but it has never done well here

I've just remembered that Lori (Canada) wrote a blog last year about soil-testing, so that could be worth a look, too. :o)

Thanks TT, will look that one up in a mo. and Andrew, different times of year, one was spring, and the other was autumn. and i did'nt give up easierly i gave both a fair go, but they just died right back no sign of new growth at all - did the stem test (scraping off a bit of at the bottom) - and brown and crispy no green at all. I really do love them though so i think i might try again, i have yet a third area that i want to put some trellis, the cololur harmony in this bed is burgandy, cream, lime green, and lilac. and it needs some winter interest. the area i have in mind is quite sheltered, next to a lilac tree, but not so close that drying out will be a problem, semi shade, but plenty of sun on the top, but not during the hottest part of the day during summer. shade more or less all the time at the base of where it will be planted, only thing i am not sure on is it does get a fair amount of morning sun during the spring. what do you think worth a go? if so any secrets of sucess i could try?

I'll trade you some of your acidic clay soil for some of my depressingly alkaline clay soil. :o(
Like you I've been adding load after load of organic matter and pine/fir needles to break it up and acidify. I think I'm slowly starting to win the battle as my roses are doing OK and they like it a bit on the acidic side.

yes Gilli, any type of clay is very hard work, but having said that very fertile, i would offer to post you some of mine, but think it would cost too much on postage lol. in my last garden the soil was clay/alkaline and mulched for many years with part composted bark, twice a year, as well as the back breaking dig over with loads of it every so often. it was a very small garden - in fact safe to say postage stamp size, but this was really effective, after about 5 years of doing this i found i could grow Rhododendrons and Skimmia and Camellia, quite effectively, never any luck with Pieris though, tried several times, and found they never did well in pots either, so you can imagine my delight when i discovered this beauty in my new garden! But with the others i did manage to get away with,- i used to give a good does of sequestrine every feb, and top dress with ericaous soil after flowering. and got quite good results. the rhododendon at the top of this blog was moved from that garden, it has bloomed like it never did at the last garden, since it moved here - must think all it's Christmases have come early! lol - why not plant some Narines Gilli - that will make you feel much better, and make me very jellous! lol

That's a good photo of your soil test ~
Anyone wanting further reading on soil tests Lori (Canada) wrote a blog on these October. 2008. ~

With Brooke's garden activities, it seems you are likely to find extra sand in some samples. !

By the way, what do you use on your grass, please ? Looks remarkably weed-free. :o)

lol - fraid not TT, looks can be deceiving, i must admit i have a very relaxed approach to the grass. i acutally like a few clovers and daisies in my grass, so i never put down weed killer or anything, i also like a bit of moss, makes it spongy and nice to walk on bare foot, and my garden is a bit cottagey, all the beds are curved, so the lawn being more natrual goes with that look. a very neatly clipped lawn with sripes i don't think would go with the rest of the garden. well thats my excuse! lol if i get a big thisstle or anything of that nature, i dig it out and then scatter lawn seed around any damaged bits. and never cut it very short either as i only have a hover mower, - it's a bit like teletubbie land, and if i cut it short i would end up scalping some of it. to be honest i don't do that much to it really, cut regually, occationally spread a bit of lawn food about, and stab it with a folk, any bald patches or bits that don't look to healthy i scatter lawn seed over in the spring or autumn. and obviously keep it free of leaves etc. that is it really. the pic's in this blog i think were taken last spring, but i have been out there today, and it is not looking like this at the moment - i have bald patches, yellow bits where the foxes have been relieving themselves, worm casts, tufty bits where it needs a good cut. but as soon as i get time ill be out with the mower and the folk, to help it out a bit, and then a bit of a feed in spring. i am sure it will pic back up ready for summer.

Hmmm. Postage may get a little expensive Maj. Especially since we have just under 1/3 acre. I guess I'll just have to keep plugging along. :o(

One question, and pardon me if I'm a bit dense, but what are "Narines"? :o)

There's a flower called Nerine. Maybe Maj just pressed wrong key on computer ?

lol, yes i will post most things Gilli, but soil is where i would have to draw the line lol. and no your not being dense at all, - it's me and my typical 'Essex girl' behavour - i spelt that wrong, lol it is 'Nerines' AKA the Guernsey lily. the most common type are bright hot pink, well the hardy varieties are, although you can get, lots of more tender vareities that come in a range of colours, white, pale pink, burgandy, orange and red, look a bit like agapanthus but not quite as big, and a bit more frilly. flowering time late summer/autumn. They are stunning! as you have alkaline soil Gilli, i would say one to add to the 'wish list'! look fab planted with Roses! - if you have a look on my 'favorites page' i have a picture of a really stunning Orange one in amonst my favorite pictures. - ofcourse it's not mine - i wish lol but i have been after this one for ages, T&M had some last year, but as i don't do T&M anymore, will have to wait till i find them somewhere else. the orange are not fully hardy though.

Your blog is very interesting Angie. I'm going to make some ph tests in my garden after it thaws out. I have a lot of new topsoil and I think it would be worth me doing it before I buy new plants. Thanks for the advice.

Yes, Angie has put lots of useful info. in this one. :o)

your welcome Hywel, a lot of this is all new to me too, i have really enjoyed finding out more about it. and yes proberly a good idea, it definately pays to know your soil.

Interesting blog Ang! I must admit I am slightly envious of your exciting pH reading results - my garden is all neutral - which means I get REALLY BORING pH results - they don't change colour at all! For ages I thought I was doing something wrong ;-) BTW, another way of assessing what your soil structure is is to rub some between finger and thumb and if it just fall apart it is a sandy soil, if it forms a 'slick' but is dull in texture then it is a silty soil (like mine) and if the slick is shiny it is a clay soil you've got.

Thanks Sid, and yes the results have been very excinting alright, i did another ph test from the other side of the garden last week and came out dark green! and that is the side that i have clematis, pinks and one or two others doing really well. i need to do more testing to be sure but i think i have strips of soil, as it seems to be highly acidic on one side and alkaline the other - i wonder if the middle is neutral?..do you think it works that way lol well would be good if so means i will be able to grow anything i like including some nerines after all.

While the acid lovers aren't at all happy on alkaline soils, most of the lime lovers cope well with an acid soil (for example, I can grow clematis and dianthus quite easily in my acid conditions). The only things I've found so far that are definitely NOT happy here are helleborus niger and scabious

I will have to look out for some Nerines Maj. Sounds great.

thanks Andrew, i have Scabious in the cottage bed, which is fine, but the soil tested bottle green here! so i think i must have strips of different soil, i am going to dig over again in the spring and re-take tests from all over the garden, and see what they come out like then, but it seems to be falling into place, if the readings are right, which they seem to be, as the relevant plants thriving in relevant places, then what a bonus to have one side acid and the other side alkaline, and there was nothing neutral about eithe test, they really were opsist ends of the scale. i'll keep you all posted. and yes Gilli, do get some, they are lovely, and i think i may have found somewhere that i can grow them too! tehehehe! ;0)

Ha ha - sounds like a full scientific investigation you're carrying out there Ang! I can imagine little coloured flags stuck all over the place indicating the various pH levels and you wandering around with a pH kit and a clipboard and pen making detailed notes ;-) One thing that did cross my mind was that the strongly alkaline bit might have been where something alkaline was dumped? Like a load of lime or limey hardcore from when the house was constructed? Might explain things....?

Yeah was thinking that actually Sid, also i often dump old compost out of pots etc in this area too., which is why i think a good dig over then re-test. and yes then the white coat, clip board, and thick rimmed glasses will come out! lol

I would like to see a picture of that ;-)
I'm well acqainted with the folks in white coats............

lol! yep me too