Review: Dalefoot Composts Lakeland Gold

When Dalefoot Composts asked if I’d like to trial their clay-busting Lakeland Gold, I laughed. Anyone who has read previous posts about my garden will know that I have very sandy soil. In fact, it’s been described as not so much earth as a dirty beach. The idea that I would need anything to open it up was quite simply ridiculous.

That was back in February at the Garden Press Event. Since then, there have been changes in the garden that have forced a rethink.

I was sent some Lakeland Gold in return for a fair review.

Needing to deal with a frankly unmanageable slope, we’ve had landscapers in to dig it out and create a decked seating area halfway up. While they replaced the small amount of topsoil that was removed, most of the stuff that was dug out was sand – so pure it was used in concrete for the footings. We therefore had a delivery of topsoil to fill up borders around the deck.

All was fine until the recent heatwave when I was puzzled by the lumps that were appearing. Unlike my usual soil, these didn’t just disintegrate when touched but proved impervious to even blows from a trowel. It seemed I’d been given clay soil.

Now this is totally out of my comfort zone as I have never gardened on clay. My first garden had loam and I’ve been on my current sandy site for 26 years.

So, I decided I’d better take up Dalefoot Composts’ offer of trying out the Lakeland Gold.

Unlike the rest of their organic composts – which I have used for many years – this blend contains no wool, as is primary purpose is to lighten the soil rather than improve moisture retention. It certainly has a different texture to their other product, the double strength, that I’ve used as a soil conditioner on the rest of the garden.

Lakeland Gold is made from sustainably harvested bracken, which not only creates a better soil structure, it also boosts the fertility. According to the firm, it should feed the soil for up to two years.

The middle of a heatwave wasn’t the best time to apply it but I was desperate to get some small plants out of their pots.

I’ve used it as a mulch on the borders after breaking up as many of the lumps as possible. The worms should do the rest.

Does it work? It’s too early to give a definitive answer but certainly the soil is already easier to manage and the plants are settling into their new home. They are mainly ‘left-over’ annuals from the cutting bed and some dahlias that I couldn’t squeeze into the dahlia bed. The permanent planting will go in either in the autumn or next spring, depending on how far we’ve got with getting rid of the bindweed.

As for the compost, I will definitely be ordering more to mulch the borders more heavily in spring.

You can find out more about Dalefoot Composts’ range here.

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