You can tell that your garden soil needs help. Trouble is, your ground cover is thick, except where you have stands of perennials. Using shovels and rakes will just tear up everything. So how can you give your soil a boost without destroying your ground cover and flowers? Just follow a simple procedure called vertical mulching. Here's how to do it.
You're going to make some holes, so your drill will come in handy. Attach the kind of auger designed for making holes for bulb planting (you can find them at your garden center). Drill a series of holes that are about 18 inches deep and about one foot apart. If you run into some roots, just move to another spot. Spread the soil you pull out over your garden.
Now that your garden looks like Swiss cheese, fill in your holes with organic material, such as compost, Miracle-Gro® Garden Soil for Flowers and Vegetables, or Miracle-Gro® Organic Garden Soil. Then, just sit back and let the worms and insects do the rest.
With vertical mulching, worms and insects eat the organic material you've put in the holes. They burrow into the surrounding soil and leave casings, which help amend it. The more holes you drill and fill over time, the more your soil will improve.
