Im so ashamed....

It sounds as if your soil is in need of humus. Years ago this would have meant peat but now composted bark is the easiest material to buy in, from B&Q say, and is much cheaper. Home made humus can be from garden compost or leaf mold. Spread it on the surface and fork it in. Your soil will be nicer to handle and look good and 'dark'!

Start youre compost bin and in a year you will have plenty of organic muck to spread or dig in.

Moonkins, just follows B's advice and you too will have nice dark rich soil. Just use lots of the composted bark :-) You can also top dress with composted bark once you've done with your planting. Don't use the decorative bark on your beds though too course and will harm the plants - it is fine for paths and such.

Definitely make a compost pile or a bin - that helps. Have you got one? I compost everything possible, including Henry's hair from the vaccuum cleaner!

I do not sieve my soil! Too much else to do, Mookins!

Please don't worry about your spelling - we don't mind, honestly! Mop those tears, now, and SMILE!!! :-)

Don't feel bad Mookins....my soil is nowhere near as dark and rich looking as the soil I see in photos on here. I'm working on it but it is a slow process unless you truck in soil by the yard.
Just start a compost pile and put in everything you can that is organic....except for bones and fat etc. You can compost weeds if they don't have seed heads, fallen leaves, chopped up branches, dog and cat hair, vacuum cleaner contents, lint from the dryer, shredded newspaper, brown paper, straw......the list is long. Keep mixing it and turning it and soon you will have lots of lovely "black gold" to mix with your soil.
By the way.....don't sieve your soil.....there are much more important things to do in life.....LOL

Feeling better already I have been humming and hahing about a compost especially as we have a lot to re-use having just moved here and 3 kids etc!!

my main concern about that would be the smell, are they very smelly I fell in a big pile of rotting grass cuttings when I was younger and was sick big time and that sort of scarred me hehe

bark (woof woof) I do have some but its newly bought was going to use it under my youngest swing. Might put that in my composter then as a starter ready for next year and invest in some humus
thanks everybody (sniffle sniffle)
Big Smiles all round :o)

seiving soil ...tutut.... If only I had that spare time hehe
x x x

If you have a bin that is difficult to mix the contents just make sure you dont put too much of any one material in at any one time, try to layer the soft stuff with drier stuff like shredded paper, then it wont go slimy and smelly. Dont put cooked food in. I keep my fallen leaves separate in black bin liners punched with holes and pop them round the back of the shed. They make lovely leaf mold after a year.

I have a compost bin , & when i put my grass cutting in i put some woow shavings with it stops it going slimmy & smelly, you can get the wood shavings anywhere, its what you use for pets bedding.

Compost bins aren't smelly if they are well balanced Mookins.....Don't put in piles of grass clippings all at once or they will mat up and get slimy and smelly as Clarice says. Just make sure that every time you add wet or green material that you also add dry such as shredded newspaper, wood shavings, straw, shredded cardboard etc. Mine just smells of "the woods" or wet soil. :o)

give it a good mulch in the autumn too and just leave it on the surface. the worms will take it down for you. no digging:o)

Cor, you've got some really good advice here Mookins, must have been the way you sobbed! Lol!!! I've not yet managed to successfully "turn" a compost. Well, ummm, I've only tried twice.... ;-) But I am trying harder this year. With a lil' help from the bunny rabbit too!!

Funny thing...... 1 thing I hate is worms. Nowadays you'll find me shovelling one onto a spade and rushing over to the compost bin....... titter!!

Just keep a nose and eye out on the compost, that'll soon reassure you it's going great guns!!! (speaking of which, 1 secret to starting off a compost, is to "pour" some human urine into it.....!!! No idea who'll volunteer to do that for you!!!!)

Ahemmmm!!...... I believe assorted males of the species are equipped with portable equipment to make this quite a simple task !! Hubbys, Brothers, Sons are often quite happy to oblige unless your compost is in full public view.

Failing that......alfalfa pellets soaked in water also work really well as a booster. I use rabbit pellets....

Gilli, have you been peeping?????

hehe... i think Il stick to the "narturelle" way of making a composter thanks anyway craftnutter and Gilli
hehe
x x x

Thought that'd give you a giggle! I read this article by an expert gardener who had made a new compost and had a lunch BBQ for friends one sunday. Apparently, she got all the men a can of beer and they all obediently stood in front of the compost...... (giggle! blush!)

Oh No Bulbaholic......not me!! LOL :oD

Mookins.....you can't get much more "naturelle" than that!! You could also put a bucket in the bathroom.....?????