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August 2008
Smelly Soil
Question: Smelly Soil
I have a problem with the "smell" of my new garden. We recently
converted our small old patch of mossy grass in the very shaded back yard,
surrounded by a hedge, into a beautiful garden oasis with a dry stone wall
and a flagstone patio and lots of new garden beds around the patio.
My problem is with the smell of the soil that was dug up in the yard to make
way for the flagstone, that we recycled for use in the new beds. Someone who owned my house before me put
asphalt in the back yard at one time, then a subsequent owner put soil and
eventually grass on top of it. I find
the soil smells really unpleasant.
Not just like dirt, but like dirt...I almost wonder if they used night
soil or something like that as a cheap fill.
It smells sort of bathroom-ish (I'm in the city so I know it isn't a
septic system).
Anyway, short of removing all the soil, do you know of something that I can
use to mask the smell, or better yet, get rid of it? My neighbour has a lot of mint, but I
hesitate to plant that. I've heard
tea leaves have some deodorizing qualities -- wonder if I mixed a bunch into
the soil if that would help? There's
cocoa mulch, but that's temporary and expensive. It's shaded, and I don't know of many fragrant shade plants
that would help. Any ideas you have will be appreciated!
Answer:
Thanks for contacting me. In reference to the smell
of your soil, there are a number of options that can be utilized.
I suspect that the original problem originates from the very shady area. Just
as overwatering can create an unpleasant smell in your potted plants, your
yard sounds like it has similar conditions. These are some of the
solutions you may want to try.
1) Drying out the soil.
2) Pruning trees or shrubs to allow more sunlight to
permeate the soil.
3) Spreading cinnamon, which is a non-toxic fungicide,
around the plants will help, as mould will be an issue.
4) Charcoal (available at florist shops) can be shaken on
top of the soil and dug into the earth with a trowel or small garden rake.
Charcoal is used when transplanting plants to sweeten the soil for this very
reason. It comes in small packages so you will need a number to cover a
large area.
5) As the soil freezes overwinter or as time goes by,
the smell may naturally dissipate.
Masking the smell won't really help. Rather,
amending the soil in the long term will be the best solution. Having
said that, one of the best plants for evening fragrance is white
petunias. Their fragrance after the sun starts to go down in the
evening is wonderful.
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