Help identifying weed and woody roots in soil

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by naro, Apr 17, 2012.

  1. naro

    naro Member

    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    vancouver
    Hello everyone,
    We started a garden in our front yard last year in which we used soil from the city. It was supposed to be a good soil mix for vegetables but I think it was random soil. Last year a lot of our veggies were stunted: beets, carrots and onions. But some did well: garlic and peas. I know our soil needs some work so this year I started digging and found that a crazy root had taken over throughout the soil.
    We keep our garden well weeded so I was surprised to find all these fibrous roots. I took a few pictures and was hoping someone could help with identification or advice. Do we need to get more soil or compost? Will these roots eventually breakdown? Can we plant anything?
    The first photo shows the roots and the other two show the possible weeds.
    Thanks in advance.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. dt-van

    dt-van Active Member 10 Years

    Messages:
    311
    Likes Received:
    11
    Location:
    Vancouver, Canada
    As far as I know he city of Vancouver does not sell "soil" only compost.

    Since it's made from a mix of leaves and other material from strets and parks and stuff picked up from home gardeners or dropped off by landscapers they don't have control of what is in it. You can be sure that the material it was made from included weeds and prunings from diseased plants, since you are not allowed to put plant material in the garbage. Generally the idea is that any problems will be diluted by the large volume of other material and I've found the mix is adequate for mulching or amending soil. The high temperature composting process should kill off most weed seeds or seedlings, but there can still be other pathogens that survive.

    I wouldn't use it as a main planting material by itself though. You are better to find a soil supplier with better control of their soil blends. Go and loook at their soils and find out the mix in the different blends and what they ate recommended for.
     
  3. naro

    naro Member

    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    vancouver
    YEah, we hired someone to bring us a mix and I think he just brought us weed infested soil and compost! Sad as it was costly and now I am battling this woody root system.
    ANy ideas on what to do with what we have?
     
  4. saltcedar

    saltcedar Rising Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    4,398
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    Austin, Tx
    Dollars to donuts you've got tree roots invading from a nearby specimen.
     
  5. naro

    naro Member

    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    vancouver
    I wondered that myself (about the tree roots) but they are everywhere in the garden which is at least 300 square feet. Is that possible? What's the best solution to the problem?
     
  6. saltcedar

    saltcedar Rising Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    4,398
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    Austin, Tx
  7. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

    Messages:
    1,829
    Likes Received:
    291
    Location:
    Burnaby, Canada
    You should be able to tell if the roots are alive or dead by cutting into them. Live roots are usually lighter colored than dead ones. Also, if they are alive they will be continuous and traceable to their source. Dead roots will be in fragments if they have been composted. Dead roots should not be a long term problem; live ones obviously will require considerable effort to eliminate.
     

Share This Page