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how to be a gardener - The complete online guide BBC Homepage Lifestyle Gardening Part One Part Two Are you signed in? Go here for more information Practical planting Preparing the ground Improving your soil Digging How to dig Buying plants Planting Test your knowledge Go further Plant lists Interactives Glossary Credits Programme information Help with plugins Gardening newsletter Site map
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4 - Preparing the ground Print page
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Wheelbarrow Preparing the ground To give plants a good start in life its essential to provide well-prepared, fertile soil. The amount of soil preparation will depend on what you’re faced with. You may have a garden that just needs lots of weeding; your completely new garden may have a layer of topsoil hiding piles of builders’ rubble; or you may want to remove areas of lawn to make space for more plants. Whatever your scenario, the cure is the same - elbow grease. It may not be an attractive proposition, but, believe me, time spent doing the ground work will repay you a hundredfold in lower maintenance once the garden is up and running.
Garden preparation The first step is to get rid of the rubbish and dig out tired old shrubs and weeds, especially perennial weeds such as thistle, nettle, bindweed, ground elder and couch grass. Remove all parts of the roots: rhizome , tap root and bits of brick bat. But, don’t be over hasty. Keep an eye out for surviving plants. This is especially important in winter when they may be ‘resting’ below ground. Let them grow, and if they’re no good take them out. But remember, they may turn out to be a real treasure. Previous next
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4. Practical planting Introduction Preparing the ground Improving your soil Digging How to dig Buying plants Planting Test your knowledge Go further
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Plant lists Plant lists featured in this module: Alpines Bulbs Clematis Evergreen plants Grafted plants Find thousands more plants in the BBC Gardening database .
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Video Watch video clips on: Choosing healthy plants Planting preparation Sealing your fertiliser
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