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topsoil


tinaw

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We are total novice gardeners and have absolutely everything to learn so please be gentle with me for asking dumb questions!!

We need to raise the level of the ground we’re planning to use for our veg patch. In the UK you could get a delivery of topsoil, do they do this sort of thing in France?  I don’t fancy the idea of buying bags form Bricolage.

We are in Haute Vienne (87)

 

Thanks

Tina
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If you were planning on having, say, a duck pond - you could use the excavations from that to build up your veggie patch.  

Or, if you had friends who had, say decided to dig out a huge pond, then you could have the excavations from that. 

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Tinaw, I hope you bit of Haute Vienne is better than my corner of La Creuse or you'll find that the 'topsoil' is about 15cms thick and under that is rock and a sort of sandstoney clay. So digging a pond would probably only yield about 2 bruettes of usable soil.

 

paul

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Don't know about topsoil - in fact I am interested to find out as we have the same problem. I am sure you already know how important it is to start composting as this will be your best source of food / soil for your raised beds. We have 3 bins on the go, one ready, one stewing under a cover and one to put fresh vegetable waste on. We have had an allotment for many years and don't dig at all, just add compost and well rotted manure to the top of the beds. We have also grown potatoes under straw and they come out lovely and clean.

regards

Lisa

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[quote]Don't know about topsoil - in fact I am interested to find out as we have the same problem. I am sure you already know how important it is to start composting as this will be your best source of food ...[/quote]

Lisa,

I was listening to GQT the other day and they were trialing using grass cutting as an alternative to earthing up potatoes, so - since grasscutting/straw is something I don't have any shortage of (!) - I thought I'd give it a go.

Yesterday our Postman, Bruno, was busy telling me about this scarab which manges tout les patates, and insisted on seeing the plants so as to indulge in a little Gaelic doom-mongering and was quite gob-smacked when he saw the greenery peeking out from under a 20" duvet of grass and straw. I tried to explain that it was a test, but (he arrives with the letters rather too early for my sleepy brain to formulate much in the way of coherent French) fear he went off with all his pre-conceptions about the mad brits well and truely reinforced.

paul

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Hi

just an amusing story.

There is a city dating from 800 BC nearby. As they excavate the 8 layers of civilisation, mountains of topsoil are piling up.

It is bought by gardeners from our area and no doubt sold, with a healthy mark up, to new house developments around the region.

Peter

 

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  • 4 years later...
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Many terrassment companies are looking for sites to dump "terre vegetale" especially if there are no new build "lottisments" going up nearby.  You should be able to find companies in your Pages Jaune.

Usually the soil will be free but typically you will pay €10/tonne for delivery, cash in hand. Still agood deal.  Make sure you get soil "sans argile" (without clay) or you'll spend many happy hours trying to either break it down or prise apart claggy lumps!

Grumpy

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