Mulches

A bank holiday weekend in the UK so some quality time in the garden, I have mulched most of my border space this weekend so I figured I would mention it here. A mulch serves a few purposes, mainly to retain water in the soil, to prevent weed growth and to add visual appeal. There are many mulches you can choose from, bark, coco shell and manure etc. You can also choose non-organic mulches, membranes that allow water through. You can also combine these if you don't want your borders massed in black, speading a organic mulch over the the membrane.

I opted for bark much, this sort of much does decay over time and will take potassium from the soil in the process. As such I will need to add liquid feed woodash or other pootassium rich feeds every month to ensure that the balance is retained. Bark is a great looker and hard wearing protective cover thats attactive to soild friendlies so I doubt mind too much.

To be effective make sure you spead the mulch 1/2 inches thick, avoid bunching the mulch around plant stems as this may cause them to rot. Also be careful of any seedlings coming up, any areas that have new seedings in avoid mulching until they are big enough to avoid covering. A mulch can kill plants as much as weeds.

Compost secrets

You will typically go through a lot of compost in your Garden and to cut down on costs and help the enviroment its a good idea to start your own. First select a location, prime growing real estate is often taken in your garden so at best select a spot thats sheltered from the wind and its not too shaded (semi shade is ok but full sun is best). Make sure the postion also offers somewhere to drain off to, compost creates a waste liquid that should drain off into the soil. The soil also invites worms and other garden friendlies into your waste to help break it down. As such avoid a placing on a patio if possible.

Next select what kind of compost you create, if you have a bigh garden or a plot then a open heap is a good idea. You will generate enough waste material to maintain its size. On a smaller scale, you will need a container. A spare waste bin with drainage holes is a good DIY container but most councils now offer compost schemes with purpose made continers available at cheap prices. These also offer a handy window into the base of the container to take the compost out at will but your preferance may be to lift the container off and take out the compost that way.

What you can use in your compost is really up to you, some examples include veg peelings, cut flowers, shredded paper, animal and human hair etc. Things to avoid include cooked food and meat (attacts vermin) and weeds, large qty of grass (it turns to slime). I would start your compost with a bed of straw to ensure drainage and build up in layers. If you want to speed things along then you need plants that will help feed the bacteria. Small qtys of grass can be used but I favour nettles, young nettles are best. You can also add manure, rabit manure is something I favour but you also use horse manure. Avoid adding too much horse manure however, it contains a lot of seeds that can surive the compost process.

You can add a little lime if you wish, compost can build up acid levels and you may wish to level the pH. The trick with compost is keep adding to it, the more it builds up the more heat it will generate (and the more bacteria will be able to help rot down the material). Also avoid adding large qtys of anything, too much wet material for example can prevent air getting into the compost and stall the process.

Compost can take 6-12 months so get ready to wait for your compost. When its ready I would recommend that you use more sparingly than you would with commerical compost. It will be much richer than you may be used to and young, tender plants may not get on with it. Mix with general purpose compost or soil.

Three counties spring show

Very late in posting about this as it was some two weeks ago but with Chelsea flower show on this week its a nice time to talk shows. The show was near the bottom of the Malven hills and it was a great back drop to the show. Lots to see and do at the show, this was my first show and I stunned by its size and amount of people at the show (1000's). RHS Awards on the show gardens have been given and there were some great displays, I enjoyed the 'nature takes back' garden that featured a man made enviroment being take back by nature (complete with broken wall and bath tub). It was more wild in its planting and less man made lines.

The floral marquee was massive with stall after stall of plants and flowers to buy, it took two hours to get around and I ended up with arms full of plants and flowers. I noticed folks with wheel-barrow loads, prices were low but still you could do your wallet some damage :) All in all a great show, the summmer show is next month I recommend if your not skint from Chelsea you go along.

A garden fan

I am a long time blogger, 3 years or so and started out on blogger and by way of Radio and .Text I have carried on blogging. I wanted to start a more personal blog on a passion of mine and keep my techy blog on techy subjects. So here is my blog on gardening :)

I live in the north west of England and the soil tends to be heavy clay, untreated its sodden wet in winter, dry and rock hard in summer. With work you can turn that around and get the soil type and balance you want. Digging through it is worth while as most plant roots can't get through the compacted clay and will spead them selfs along it resulting in a narrow root spread. I have had potatos suggested as a way of planting to break the clay but again the compact clay proves too much. The very best policy is dig it up.

Winter wet months are the best time for this when the clay is soft, it will be heavier to lift but easier to get through with your spade. Start small and work a bit at a time, dig as deep as possible, 2 feet is good overall depth. Take off any top soil first, put to one side. Dig out all the clay and half fill with manure or leaf mould etc. Bag the rest of the manure and store for spring (it will rot down). Put the clay back ontop and put the top soil onto the rest of the garden. Over winter the cold, frost and wet will help break the clay up. When the weather allows try to keep breaking it up and turning it over, that way the weather can get at the big clumps. By spring and drier weather you can start to break down the top surface, I would cover with a mulch of rotted manure for a few weeks and then work that in. You can start to plant in this now as the broken up clay will allow roots to penetrate.