Where to buy topsoil and compost in Mallorca?

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Where to buy topsoil and compost in Mallorca?
« on: April 26, 2013, 04:35:52 PM »
I'm about to move to Puigpunyent, Mallorca and need a lot of soil to start my garden. Does anyone know where i could buy some on the island (delivered)?
Keen to learn about gardens in the med, especially Mallorca as we have just moved from a very english garden in the UK.

Trevor Australis

  • Sr. Member
Re: Where to buy topsoil and compost in Mallorca?
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2013, 12:01:06 AM »
 :) Your eagerness to get started is understandable but just maybe you are trying to go too fast. Trying to change the soil may bring more problems than it solves - weed seeds, bulbs and perennial roots for starters, but what about differences and incompatibilities between what you have and what you buy in eg alkalinity vs. acidity. Dumping imported soils over what is already there can result in altered drainage patterns or result in hard-pans forming. Are there any quality controls for soils and composts sold in Mallorca? Could you be paying for a truckload of sub-soil, builders rubble and junk? Have you had time to observe the soil at your new place? You will probably need to do that before you decide how the soil could be improved.

I think you may need to give some thought also to your ideas about what a garden can be on Mallorca. Whatever it is it won't be anything like your former garden in the UK. The seasons will be different. What can be grown will be different. There will be water management issues that effect how you garden and what you plant. My best advice would be to visit some local MGS members gardens and talk to them about their experiences, and then read Heidi Gildemeister's book based on making her garden near Pollensa.

Good Luck
M Land. Arch., B. Sp. Ed. Teacher, traveller and usually climate compatible.

pamela

  • Sr. Member
Re: Where to buy topsoil and compost in Mallorca?
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2013, 06:14:52 AM »
Helen, why dont you speak to Helmut Michi of Plantas Rusticas, Sa Pobla. Tel. 630 045 486.  He is well informed about soils and soil management.  He propagates succulents and other plants in his nursery.   
   
Jávea, Costa Blanca, Spain
Min temp 5c max temp 38c  Rainfall 550 mm 

"Who passes by sees the leaves;
 Who asks, sees the roots."
     - Charcoal Seller, Madagascar

Re: Where to buy topsoil and compost in Mallorca?
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2013, 01:32:50 PM »
Thanks for the responses. I need the topsoil as our house is up a mountain and i don't actually have any soil...just rock and baked hard clay. So i wanted the soil for raised beds and pots. I will call the chap at Sa Pobla and see what he has.
Keen to learn about gardens in the med, especially Mallorca as we have just moved from a very english garden in the UK.

Alice

  • Hero Member
Re: Where to buy topsoil and compost in Mallorca?
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2013, 01:48:59 PM »
I do sympathize. When we started out most of our garden had 0-2 cm of soil depth.
Amateur gardener who has gardened in north London and now gardens part of the year on the Cycladic island of Paros. Conditions: coastal, windy, annual rainfall 350mm, temp 0-35 degrees C.