Greenhouse on soil. Soil always very dry

[mrsbusy]

Hi. I have done the usual like add compost and ground cover but water just seems to run down the soil - whatever I have done so far seems to make little difference.
I was thinking of digging the soil out and putting some cardboard down then put the soil back.
I want to put my aubergines in the border and peppers, at the moment everything is in pots but they are getting too big for the pots they're in so need to either sort out this problem or pot them on
Would appreciate your thoughts.

[Martin H]

If the water is running off the soil without soaking in, a drop of washing up liquid in each watering can full can help. It breaks the surface tension and makes the water "wetter".

[mrsbusy]

If the water is running off the soil without soaking in, a drop of washing up liquid in each watering can full can help. It breaks the surface tension and makes the water "wetter".

Thanks. The water does soak in / down really quickly then if I dig a hole the soil is still really dry.
I will give the w.u.l. a go tho - nothing to loose

[Jungle Jane]

When I dig a hole to plant,I fill the hole with water,it sinks down & shows good draining soil so it’s good the water isn’t still present when you dig another hole. Then plant the plant in the hole,the waters probably drained down,then cover with soil leaving a little puddle in the soil on top so when watering you can fill the puddle area & it doesn’t run off,it sinks down.

[ameno]

Do as said above to re-wet the soil in the first place (you may still need a fair amount of water). Once the soil is damp enough, I recommend using a heavy mulch to plant through. I plant through black plastic in my greenhouse, and it retains water very well (I've only been having to water about twice a week so far, despite the heat).

[Jay-ell]

If you are adding water and it soaks away quickly withour spreading it could be that your soil is sandy and you need to dig in more compost to hold onto the water.

You may need to totally rehydrate th bed first - on spray setting just spray a little water and let thet soak, repeat this multiple times till the soil is rehydrated.

You could use drip tape or soaker hose to drip water over an extended period - it will go down first then spread out.

Once you have it rehydrrates you can use a soaker hose wound round the bed to water and cover it and the bed with a mulch to hold in moisture. You might want to use an organic much so it will break down and add to the water retention of the bed.