Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Dec 16, 2016 7:46 pm Hi all, I am a complete newbie when it comes to landscaping so please help me out. I have a mixture of planter boxes that are 300, 380, 450, 550 and 760mm high. What do I fill the planter box with? It is currently all sand at the bottom with the concrete footing exposed. I am from Perth which explains all the sand at the bottom. From what I read in wrexter thread (viewtopic.php?t=78220&f=19&p=1653242#p1653242), he mentions Garden Beds - 100mm of Soil Conditioner added - Mixed to Depth of 300mm Zeolite - 3kg per m2 addded to lawn and garden beds Bentonite Clay - 6kg per m2 addded to lawn and garden beds My questions are: 1) If my planter box is 760mm high, do I fill up the bottom 360mm with brickies sand or compost or anything else? 2) And then the rest of the 300mm with 100mm of Soil Conditioner, 200mm with compost, Zeolite and Bentonite? 3) And then only mix the top 300mm? Thanks in advance!! What soil do I fill my planter box with? 2Dec 17, 2016 4:53 pm Do you have soil from your site to fill the planters? If so follow the mixes you quoted. You need a minimum of 300mm of good quality 'top' soil then below that any basic soil that drains well. Sand is fine. I gather from your comments that water can freely drain into the ground and is not retained at the base of planter like a pot. If you are not using your own site soil/compost mix just use a high quality imported soil blend. A mix that is about 20-30% organics (compost/manures) and 70-80% actual 'soil' which is usaully a blend of sand and clay. You can just fill the boxes all up if importing the soil rather than padding the bottom out with filler soils. Re: What soil do I fill my planter box with? 3Dec 19, 2016 12:36 pm I do have some soil(sand with rubble) on site but they won't be enough. The bottom of the planter box is just sand. The concrete footing surrounds the planter box on the bottom for the bricks to sit on. If you are not using your own site soil/compost mix just use a high quality imported soil blend. A mix that is about 20-30% organics (compost/manures) and 70-80% actual 'soil' which is usaully a blend of sand and clay. You can just fill the boxes all up if importing the soil rather than padding the bottom out with filler soils. Just to confirm, if my planter box is 760mm high, I should mix 20-30% organics (compost/manures) and 70-80% actual 'soil' for the bottom 360mm? Should I also put some blue metal at the base or don't have to bother with that? Cheers! Re: What soil do I fill my planter box with? 6Dec 19, 2016 3:21 pm mwccl Unfortunately, I don't think I have enough. That's fine, put whatever sand and rubble you have at the bottom. The top soil needs to be a minimum 300mm deep from the top edge of the planter. 400mm is better. You can fill the planters top to bottom with imported soil of you want. Below 300mm from the top edge is basically just drainage and doesn't need ammendments. Re: What soil do I fill my planter box with? 7Dec 19, 2016 3:43 pm BeatrixKiddo mwccl Unfortunately, I don't think I have enough. That's fine, put whatever sand and rubble you have at the bottom. The top soil needs to be a minimum 300mm deep from the top edge of the planter. 400mm is better. You can fill the planters top to bottom with imported soil of you want. Below 300mm from the top edge is basically just drainage and doesn't need ammendments. Would this work if I fill up the whole planter box with it? https://www.soilsaintsoils.com.au/Our-Products/Soils-(Perth-metro-prices)/Landscape-Mix.aspx So there is no need to add Zeolite and Bentonite? Re: What soil do I fill my planter box with? 8Dec 19, 2016 7:07 pm mwccl BeatrixKiddo mwccl Unfortunately, I don't think I have enough. That's fine, put whatever sand and rubble you have at the bottom. The top soil needs to be a minimum 300mm deep from the top edge of the planter. 400mm is better. You can fill the planters top to bottom with imported soil of you want. Below 300mm from the top edge is basically just drainage and doesn't need ammendments. Would this work if I fill up the whole planter box with it? https://www.soilsaintsoils.com.au/Our-Products/Soils-(Perth-metro-prices)/Landscape-Mix.aspx So there is no need to add Zeolite and Bentonite? Yeah should fine, the vegie flower mix does sound a bit better balanced though, it has actual loam (clay bits) in it. So does the native mix. The landscape mix has some sort of fertiliser added which isn't really needed at this point. Just because it's popular with trade doesn't mean it's great long term.. Zeolite and bentonite are needed when amending the basic sand soils found in perth. An imported blend that has clay in it will do just as good job. Btw 'Loam' soil is a combo of sand and clay basically. There should be some threads here where there are recommended perth soil suppliers. Re: What soil do I fill my planter box with? 9Dec 20, 2016 4:57 pm It's funny how every soil place I called up so far recommends a landscape mix. Also, when I asked them about a vegie mix, they mentioned that they are not suitable for native plants. Another also said that if I want some clay mix, I should look at sand remedy instead. And I can't seem to find the thread about Perth soil suppliers. This is starting to get confusing Re: What soil do I fill my planter box with? 10Dec 20, 2016 5:49 pm Just called another company(which I read about on this forum from a thread), which sounded a lot more "knowledgeable" and definitely more detailed - http://www.greenlifesoil.com.au/ Based on what he recommended me, I think I will be doing the following: 1) Leave 1 course of brick from top empty. 2) Then fill between 50 - 100mm of mulch depending on the height of the planter boxes. He recommended this mulch. 3) Then fill 300mm with a good top soil. He recommended their General mix. 4) Then fill the rest of the box at the bottom with a cheaper soil which is their Fill Soil which is also a pretty rich soil as they are the leftovers from the various soils mixed together. Sounds good? Only issue I have is their soil is definitely more pricey than the usual stuff. Maybe cause it is organic? What soil do I fill my planter box with? 11Dec 20, 2016 8:39 pm Yeah it confusing for the consumer. The perfect soil growing landscape plants is 'loam'. Loam has sand, clay and other minerials/organics. It holds water but also drains and allows easy root penetration and doesn't compact like normal clay soil. Loam soils range from sandy through to clay loam. A 'loam' is the soil you want. Landscape soil suppliers are pretty vague on the exact % in their soil blends. Hence just they say just use the landscape mix. My bet is the landscape mix is just sand mixed with organics and manures. 2 4356 yeah i couldnt picture it issue either, but i could clearly picture what they were doing wrong haha 2 5300 If you're in a flood zone, not only are you dealing with the importation of fill and laying it down in 150 lifts to achieve compaction, you're going to have to consider… 4 5536 |