ᐅ Topsoil or planting soil: which is better for a new garden?
Created on: 23 Jul 2023 09:13
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PinkiponkP
Pinkiponk23 Jul 2023 09:13Greetings to the forum; the house is built, we have moved in, and we are now starting with the landscaping. 🙂
I haven’t found clear or really satisfactory answers elsewhere, so I’m asking the experienced members here in the forum: From your perspective, is topsoil or planting soil better for establishing a new garden? Should I also buy and introduce worms, or wait to see if they settle on their own? For now, I’m mainly concerned with the base soil; once I know which plants will go where, I’ll prepare the soil in each planting hole accordingly.
I haven’t found clear or really satisfactory answers elsewhere, so I’m asking the experienced members here in the forum: From your perspective, is topsoil or planting soil better for establishing a new garden? Should I also buy and introduce worms, or wait to see if they settle on their own? For now, I’m mainly concerned with the base soil; once I know which plants will go where, I’ll prepare the soil in each planting hole accordingly.
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WilderSueden23 Jul 2023 14:43What are we talking about here? Lawn, hedge, flower bed?
Potting soil is usually only used for planting holes, and in my opinion, it is often unnecessary. With a reasonably suitable location, fairly natural (= not overly bred) plants can manage well with what is available.
What’s more interesting for beds is the possibility of using weed-free substrates, for example compost plus gravel. However, these must actually be quality-assured.
Potting soil is usually only used for planting holes, and in my opinion, it is often unnecessary. With a reasonably suitable location, fairly natural (= not overly bred) plants can manage well with what is available.
What’s more interesting for beds is the possibility of using weed-free substrates, for example compost plus gravel. However, these must actually be quality-assured.
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xMisterDx23 Jul 2023 15:58There is a nice clip from Hornbach called "Let Nature Take Its Course..."
Potting soil is used for exotic plants that you put in a pot. It would be ridiculously expensive to fill the entire garden with potting soil.
The rest is taken care of by nature itself...
Potting soil is used for exotic plants that you put in a pot. It would be ridiculously expensive to fill the entire garden with potting soil.
The rest is taken care of by nature itself...
Holzhäuschen24 Jul 2023 10:55Hello Pinkiponk,
depending on what soil you have available, I would recommend not filling with topsoil. It is very nutrient-rich and often contains many weeds that you probably don’t want.
If you still have subsoil from excavation on site, or can get some cheaply, that would be ideal. Most of our native wild plants prefer poor soil. Sand is also suitable. Wild plants can better withstand the weather here and are beneficial for local wildlife. 🙂
Where I live, it’s still very green and colorful, while the neighbors run their sprinklers daily and their lawns suffer. I would create as little lawn area as possible and instead plant many perennial flower beds or reseed with native regional seeds.
But I’m a bit more “exotic” (pun intended) with my natural garden approach.
WilderSüden also has a good tip about using sand or gravel combined with RAL-certified compost (which is heated at high temperatures, so no weed seeds remain).
If you’re interested in a natural garden, feel free to get in touch 🙂
depending on what soil you have available, I would recommend not filling with topsoil. It is very nutrient-rich and often contains many weeds that you probably don’t want.
If you still have subsoil from excavation on site, or can get some cheaply, that would be ideal. Most of our native wild plants prefer poor soil. Sand is also suitable. Wild plants can better withstand the weather here and are beneficial for local wildlife. 🙂
Where I live, it’s still very green and colorful, while the neighbors run their sprinklers daily and their lawns suffer. I would create as little lawn area as possible and instead plant many perennial flower beds or reseed with native regional seeds.
But I’m a bit more “exotic” (pun intended) with my natural garden approach.
WilderSüden also has a good tip about using sand or gravel combined with RAL-certified compost (which is heated at high temperatures, so no weed seeds remain).
If you’re interested in a natural garden, feel free to get in touch 🙂
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Pinkiponk25 Jul 2023 15:58WilderSueden schrieb:
What exactly are we talking about here? Lawn, hedge, flower bed? My main focus is to create a boundary with the neighbors at the front (see photos) using a fence or trellis, which I then want to cover with plants. The “planting strip” is quite narrow because we also need to fit in the edging stones for the paved driveway. I would like to soften the side facing the neighbors with climbing plants (ivy? golden pothos or goldheart?) since the design there is quite varied.
Holzhäuschen schrieb:
If you’re interested in a natural garden, feel free to get in touch 🙂 I’m thinking of a “tidy” ;-) natural garden. Definitely want dandelions and chickweed because I find them wonderful.
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Pinkiponk25 Jul 2023 18:01Holzhäuschen schrieb:
If you’re interested in a natural garden, feel free to get in touch 🙂So far, I’ve gathered the following, besides dandelion and common chickweed:
Alyssum ovirense, Karawanks rockcress
Biscutella laevigata, smooth buckler mustard
Delosperma congestum ‘Golden Nugget,’ yellow ice plant
Glaucium flavum, yellow horned poppy
Potentilla erecta, tormentil
Potentilla fragiformis ssp. megalantha, strawberry-leaved cinquefoil
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