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Gardeners' musings

Mulch, mulch, mulch

Posted by: James Alexander-Sinclair, 19 February 2008, 10.54AM

Bed freshly mulched with manure In the words of Benny Hill: "I'll never know how a rose can smell so sweet and pure, And hold its head up high when it's standing in manure!".

Old Benny cannot have been much of a gardener (a statement borne out by the fact that he lived all his life in a rented flat in Twickenham) as it is pretty elementary that soil needs nourishment and manure is a good option. This week a huge pile of the stuff arrived. Brown, crumbly and pleasantly pungent it sat on my drive, lightly steaming and awaiting transfer to my newly cut down borders.

I try and leave anything with a decent structure standing for as long as possible to give sustenance to small birds (and probably mice), as well as on the off chance that we might have a frost and everything will sparkle. By February, however, I am bored of these tottering corpses that trail across the gardens like refugees from the Battle of Austerlitz. Most plants have lost their oomph and they are but broken shadows of their former selves.

The time has come 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 I was a contractor) I operate a policy of minimal digging. I will dig out weeds but I will not dig in manure. I prefer to let the worms and time do it for me. Provided the muck is well enough rotted then everything will benefit. I try not to bury anything too deeply - especially plants like this violet that is making the effort to grow already.

As I have said before I make a lot of compost here but there is never enough to mulch the whole garden so, every other year I buy a trailer load of the stuff - hence the presence of the large steaming pile. Luckily I persuaded my elder son, Archie, to rally round and help with the barrowing. By 'persuaded' I mean, of course, bribed. Children, in my experience, don't really see the point of gardening unless there is cash involved (or unless they are feeling extremely guilty about something).

So now everything sleeps under a layer of gorgeous brownness; you can almost see the soil sucking in the goodness. I also scatter a goodly helping of fish, blood and bone around the place before mulching. The next few weeks require patience; days of glorious waiting as, one after another, plants push their way to the surface and the spring slowly arrives.

Comments

  • Paul Narramore

    20 February 2008, 10.25AM

    That is precisely what I do, mulch with horse muck. I'm fortunate in that we have many stables nearby with free horse muck. Nor do i worry about how well rotted the stuff is. As long as the fresh stuff doesn't actually touch the plants, I wack it down by the bagful. I must have added over 150 bags of fresh muck to my garden in the last few years and never had any problems. I also agree with the 'No Dig' theory. Just mulch the surface and let nature get on with it.

  • nathan holzworth

    20 February 2008, 03.47PM

    it wouldn't have been so bad if you took it and mixed it with some water!

  • Antonia

    20 February 2008, 05.05PM

    Ok, I suppose I'm going to have to stop procrastinating and just do it, aren't I! I've been putting off mulching my beds this year partly because everything already seems to be sprouting and, in places, there's not much actual soil free to put the compost onto. Also, I have one of those plastic compost bins with a little door at the bottom which is great in theory but getting to the good stuff at the back can be difficult without the rest all falling on top of me! Oh well, perhaps the best thing would be to just scoop off the top layers, take the whole bin off the pile and dig - mucky and tiring but I'm sure it'll be well worth it in the end!

  • Trudi Chant

    21 February 2008, 04.56PM

    Don't you use your chickens' poo, James? I had saved mine from some months ago, mixed with straw, and that has gone on the garden this week; like you, I let the worms get on with it. Got a few feathered visitors too - after the worms I suppose.

  • MAGS

    21 February 2008, 08.10AM

    I live in Cardiff. Can anybody tell me where I cold get some mushroom compost please. Thanks

  • Lin

    23 February 2008, 11.29AM

    Alas I have no room for a compost bin but I munch up prunings during the year and store them in black bin liners, under the oil tank. They take between 12 and 18 months to rot down enough but make a good mulch. Its surprising how many worms find their way into the bags too.

    Things are looking up though as I got a wormery for Christmas so I'm hoping to make better use of the kitchen waste this year. Can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit more to get started and order my worms.

  • Andrea

    25 February 2008, 04.26PM

    I have two of those black plastic compost bins, which I use in rotation. Usually, when I start the new bin, it's not long before I notice lots of bugs and worms doing their work. However, although one of my bins is choc full of worms and bugs, the one currently in use does not seem to have any, even though it's almost full. I have checked for tunneling around the bin, in case there may be a rat under there, but cannot see anything. I compost all the usual stuff, tea bags, coffee grounds, cardboard tubes, vegetable peelings, plant & grass waste,& occasional newspaper. I do make sure also, that it is not too wet or dry. Please can anyone offer an explanation as to why this particular load is not attracting the usual 'workers'?

  • James A-S

    25 February 2008, 07.06PM

    The chicken poo goes into the compost heap. Those who have chickens be wary of putting neat poo on anything - it is very strong and can burn your plants. Always compost the stuff first - as Trudi has very wisely done.

  • Christina

    10 April 2008, 04.30PM

    Is manure organic? Does any antibiotic or inoculation that the animals may have had make it non-organic?

  • Olwen

    01 January 2007, 12.00AM

    We have recently collected seaweed blown up in a storm and left above the usual high tide mark. We have just started growing vegetables this year in deep beds - not grown any before. Any comments as to how we can use the seaweed. We have put some in the bottom of the potato trench.

  • Annie

    23 April 2008, 09.06AM

    I use loads of leaf mould, that I collect from my local park, where the council gardeners kindly dump it in the same place year after year. By digging down a bit, I find wonderful, well rotted stuff that my garden loves. I put about 20 bags down last year, using it as a mulch/soil conditioner. It beats carrying it back by the carrier bag full from the local woods! Tip: try not to use conifer leaf mould, it takes longer to break down and is very slighly acidic.

  • Country Bumkin

    13 May 2008, 03.27PM

    Hi all, I can get free horse manure from two very friendly shetland ponies near me. Am a bit new to this, but can anyone tell me how i make it 'well rotted' manure?

    I know it sounds silly - presently the manure is dry due to the lovely weather we have - if i put it in my compost bin for it to rot down, do i need to add anything? I presume it needs moisture!

  • Kate, gardenersworld.com - reply to Country Bumpkin

    14 May 2008, 02.01PM

    Hi Country Bumpkin, well-rotted manure is just manure that has been composted down. You can tell it's rotted down because it is crumbly in texture and sweet-smelling. Adding fresh manure to your beds can leach nutrients from the soil and can even scorch delicate plants, so it's important to make sure it's 'well-rotted'. The best way to rot down manure is to pile it up on its own and cover it with tarpaulin or similar material, and leave it for about six months. Don't add it to your compost heap, as it can leach ammonia and lead to the loss of nutrients from the compost. Hope this helps! Kate

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