Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Show us your garden! Please. Tree mulch V Garden pebbles 41May 28, 2011 7:59 am I'm planting bulbs today and will then mulch with a mixture of sugar, lucerne and pea straw/leaves all over my garden beds. Fu mentioned that you keep away from the base of bushes etc..I have many standard roses does that mean I keep the mulch away from their base? Re: Show us your garden! Please. Tree mulch V Garden pebbles 42May 28, 2011 11:06 am I believe so Ball. Keep any mulch away from the stalk of the tree so it doesn't cause the tree to rot.
Re: Show us your garden! Please. Tree mulch V Garden pebbles 43Jun 05, 2011 10:34 pm Yeah just smash it all down and then go round and uncover the plants and pull it all away from the stems. Just use your hands, press it down too. It will pretty much stay like that. Hose it all in very thoroughly with a hard jet of water. It will all matt in well and not move an inch in winter storms. Good time to lob down zeolite (and bentonite if in sandy soil) Bigger plants won't care less about the mulch around their base. As in big old trees and established palms etc Re: Show us your garden! Please. Tree mulch V Garden pebbles 44Jun 06, 2011 9:07 am Fu, what do you suggest we add to our clay type soil for our new garden? We are in Melbourne South East suburbs and have previously had sandy soil. Dealing with the clay is a whole different matter. Re: Show us your garden! Please. Tree mulch V Garden pebbles 45Jun 06, 2011 7:30 pm Gypsum will be useful. I have been using gypsum, compost, lucern and mulch for the garden. Also have some cow manure too. I also got told to use gypsum above ground ever 12mths. Not sure if that will be useful or not. Re: Show us your garden! Please. Tree mulch V Garden pebbles 46Jun 06, 2011 8:55 pm I and many others will tell you Gypsum is a waste of time. Sometimes I'll say to use it because there's no harm in doing so most of the time. So many books will say to use. It has just been done for all eternity and no body questions it. Dolomite of Lime works better in many applications. Gypsum only works on some types of clays, not all. It also takes a many years after application to actually do something. For the money though its a crap investment. *Organic humus/compost is what you need. The organic acids are fairly fast to act on heavy clays and also promote a healthy environment for the micro organisms to live and multiply into a whole new universe of life. *Zeolite. *Spongolite and or perlite. *Sand. *Bactivate/Olsen's Green bio The same goes for sandy soils but all you add to the list is *Bentonite Clay. Re: Show us your garden! Please. Tree mulch V Garden pebbles 47Jun 06, 2011 9:06 pm Thanks Fu. Why do nursery's promote it? For the profit? Even if gypsum is a waste of time, somehow it makes me feel a bit more confident when I garden. Some areas are full of clay. Where do you get Spongolite from? Nursery? Bunnings? Re: Show us your garden! Please. Tree mulch V Garden pebbles 48Jun 06, 2011 10:49 pm They do that because in nurseries they are either; poorly trained or never trained. They learnt their trade many years ago and have never updated their skills. Or because that is what they have always done and always been told. Also understand that much of what nurseries tell you comes from training provided by the companies selling the products to the nursery. Not from training provided by tertiary institutions that have trainers with the very latest skills. Hence why I am here helping Homeoners out where I can. You get access to info many will be learning in 5 years time or possibly never at all. Re: Show us your garden! Please. Tree mulch V Garden pebbles 49Jun 06, 2011 10:52 pm Spongolite, They'll just stare at you blankly when you ask for that. There are quite a few threads mentioning where others have found supply's of it. Perlite is an alternative. Here's a start on the search search.php?keywords=spongolite&terms=all&author=Fu+Manchu&fid[]=19&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search Re: Show us your garden! Please. Tree mulch V Garden pebbles 50Jun 07, 2011 7:31 pm ooh thanks Fu. I will test out the Spongolite end of the week. Hello. I just bought a few acres in Habana, Mackay, and my horses seem to love hanging around under this tree. I would like to name the paddock after this tree. Can… 0 9528 Fellow Perth dweller. Looks like pruns nigra. It's a dark leaf flowering plum. Doesn't get massive and is easily trimmed deciduous tree. Very popular in small gardens in Perth 7 2759 |