Stockpiled and imported soils for landscaping a new home garden, Box Hill, Victoria, Australia

Description:         stockpiles of brown remnant topsoil from former garden and  new imported grey sand
will be worked together for the new housing to re-establish a (much smaller) residential garden than previously .

Location:             hilly land in suburban Melbourne area, levelled in destruction of former house and replacement with new one

Values for these soil:
1 Foundations for lawn and garden around new home
–  Sand will be porous for water to soak into
– Remnant topsoil will contain nutrients and organic matter to fuel new lawn
2 Original clay is 10cm below surface  and as bedrock provides the foundations for the home building

Challenges for this composite soil – and how this is managed:
– Good Mixing of remnant topsoil with sands – bobcat used
– Nutrients needed to grow lawn and plants- added as needed by new owner
– Dry soil – watering as needed for the plants to grow and bare soil to not blow

See more about  the challenges from newly made urban soils (anthroposols) in these Soil Selfies: 
Sunbury clay,- when the topsoil over the clay has been lost, the effects last for decades
Warragul anthroposol,when a new garden soil turns out to have problems
Horsham clay when clay soil is in the process of improved for an urban family farm backyard.
Horsham beautiful soil  when a new fertile soil has been created from a poor new housing anthroposol
and article discussing links between the urban clay Soil  Selfies is a LN Post

Credits : Gordon Smith, of Box Hill North,  gives permission for his photos and information to be used under a (cc) license 2015
Editing and page created by Jeanie Clark, enviroed4all®, Warracknabeal, for use in education under a (cc) licence 2015

return to Soil Selifes location page

page set up 31 October 2015, updated 9 January 2016