Search - Articles

I love mulching, and my soil loves it too. Not that I'd admit this in public, but I think it's partly the lazy gardener in me that chooses mulching over digging - it's a far easier way to incorporate bulky organic material into soil.Yes, there's a

Carol Klein demonstrates how to add mulch to beds and borders to enrich the soil and ensure healthy plants.spring and autumnCarolMore ways to improve soilImproving soil with green manure.How to feed plants.Improving your soil.Making a soil sieve.

to cut everything to the ground and apply a generous mulch to feed the soil. Not being desperate to make extra work for myself (and being of an age when my back can be temperamental - unsurprising if you consider the amount of abuse it had to undergo when

A protective top covering used to conserve moisture and suppress weeds. May be organic, eg, leaves, peat, shredded bark, manure or compost; or inorganic, eg, pebbles, rock or black plastic sheeting.

I'm rather proud of the plot at the moment. It's weeded, fed, mulched and manured, the potatoes are chitted and in, and the beds are ready. Best of all, I've just top dressed my paths with lovely wood chips, which set the whole thing off to a 'T

to dig, spread a thick layer of compost, manure or composted green waste (like peat-free compost) over the soil surface. Worms will gradually work this in and the surface layer acts as a mulch to deter the germination of annual weeds.On the veg plot, I

Ever wondered what the ingredients of great compost are? Chris Beardshaw shows you what to put on your heap and what to leave off, to create black gold for your garden.all year roundMore tips on how to improve your soilBuild a compost binHow to make good compostMake a soil sieveV...

If you're faced with huge piles of fallen leaves every autumn, you can make the sweeping and collection process a lot easier by using a combination of different tools. Learn different methods of gathering autumn leaves, below, then follow our video guide to creating leaf mould in...

Make a compost bin to achieve the satisfaction of turning kitchen and garden waste, into rich, crumbly compost. This will make your plants and crops thrive - so keep them, and your local landfill site, happy.Spade or rake4 strong wooden pallets6 sturdy wooden stakesSledgehammerBo...

Home-made compost is a great soil conditioner and plant food. Good compost will take about six months to produce if you turn it regularly.Monty's compost recipeWhat should you put on your heap? The simple answer is anything that has lived. But I exclude all meat, fat and anything...