Home Grown Gardens From beds to borders and beyond
Topsoil is vital for growing healthy plants. From nutrient retention and carbon sequestration to water filtration, well-conditioned soil works hard to support a multitude of ecosystems.
When soil health has such a large impact on your garden, it’ s important to make sure you choose the right topsoil for the job. Yet, soil is often overlooked and underappreciated.
How can you give your garden the best chance to succeed?
When you invest not only your money but also your time and effort into plants and flowers for your garden or allotment, the last thing you want is for them to die. But when you are planting into poor quality soil, you are leaving their fate to chance.
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Rolawn’ s task-specific
To give your garden or allotment a fighting chance, you’ ll need to do some groundwork to find out what topsoil is best for you.
The starting point is to decide what you’ ll be using the topsoil for. If you’ re laying or seeding a lawn then a sandy, free flowing and friable topsoil will provide the best start.
For growing vegetables, look for a loamy soil- a carefully curated mixture of sand, silt and clay- to ensure good drainage, aeration and water-holding capacity.
General gardening and flower beds thrive on sandy loam topsoil, with the mix of sand, silt, clay and organic matter providing optimal conditions for many flower species.
Not all topsoil is created equal.
In a study commissioned in 2022, 30 samples were taken from bulk bags from 17 suppliers.
Of the 30 samples, 47 % were found to be unsuitable, not meeting the British Standard for Topsoil.
The most alarming result being that one sample contained elevated levels of a known carcinogenic chemical. Of the 30 samples, only 16 were deemed free from contamination, with Rolawn’ s two product samples amongst those deemed suitable for use in residential gardens and landscaping schemes.
Having healthy soil doesn’ t just happen. It’ s nurtured. Responsibly sourced, tested to BS 3882:2015 and peat-free,
topsoils make it easy to make the right choice.
Terry Smithson
Head of Nature-Based Solutions at Rolawn
rolawn. co. uk