Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Garden Basics for new gardeners 21Jul 22, 2008 9:56 pm Great tips Maggie .
Fu Manchu. Re bark chips etc. Are there issues of too much nitrogen etc if lots of fresh chipped trees are spread over and around a garden - I have the makings of a fruit orchard that I need to mulch again soon. Steve Re: Garden Basics for new gardeners 22Jul 22, 2008 11:37 pm yeah, there is mate but it is temp.
I would suggest a good application of urea and blood and bone (because it is so good for the soil). It's not often I will recomend a synthetic fertiliser but that is one time it is good. It won't leach into the soil because the bacteria will use it up fine. In areas other than Perth where the pH is favorable( ie acid), Dynamic Lifter has enough nitrogen to get the composting going. Blood and bone alone doesn't contain enough nitrogen to get the job done (it does have lots of other goodies for the soil though )Blood and bone will usually take 6 weeks to become available to the plants or in this case the bacteria doing the composting, in which case it maybe too late The bacteria that break that down need nitrogen and with out enough at the start they can cause nitrogen drawdown. Once it gets going though, the composting plant matter contains enough nitrogen to keep it going and get all the nutrients back into the soil. I will often put it on very thick. To a foot or more sometimes. Keep it clear around the other plants so as not to harm them (ie rot them). After a week it drops and you start seeing the plants look better. After 3 weeks it drops further and if you brush it back you will see little healthy critters doing a great job getting the soils ecology right. It will smell quite nice too water use will drop dramatically too compared with other mulches but still use a quality wetting agent like debco saturaid or the new seasol wetting agent and liquid compost. Baileys Grosorb is a good local wetting agent too. Most others are poor performers in comparison but are leagally allowed to be sold as wetting agents at this stage. oh by the way Maggie you will love to know that you don't need to pull the mulch away to fertilise. A good healthy mulch layer needs to be activly composting and things like blood and bone, power feed, seasol ( http://www.seasol.com.au/ ) and a fav of mine "Olsens green bio" ( http://www.greenbio.com.au/ ) will only enhance that. A good rule of thumb in gardening is let water do as much of the work for you as possible. Let it take the goodies to the roots. No need to dig any in. It is moisture that delivers the goodies not garden forks and spades. applying lots of sheep or cow poo in big quantities at the start of winter sometimes may need to be lightly worked in the the mulch layer only, but from there let the winter rains carry the rest through to what needs it. let it rot down on it's own. No need for us to break our backs unless we really have too. I don't like synthetic fertilisers unless I have too use some. Here in Perth we are getting algal blooms from massive nutrient run off into the rivers and wet lands, the ocean too. Still in winter! That was once unheard of in summer and now it is common in winter! we need to change that! Perth gardeners spend more per capita on the garden than any other city in Australia. That needs to be spent differently or our environment will choke. The best thing about that is that our gardens will get better still! Here's how West Aussies can make sand into soil Checkout The Forever Project Before starting your landscape attend a FREE Great Gardens workshop Re: Garden Basics for new gardeners 23Jul 22, 2008 11:44 pm What about laying down wet newspaper thickly over weeds before putting mulch down (I think Peter Cundall has suggested this)?
Some people say you shouldn't as the dyes are toxic to the plants ...we've never had a problem with it though. Any thoughts anyone? 'chelle We have a hand-over date...15/10...but I won't hold my breath! http://people-in-glass-houses.blogspot.com/ Re: Garden Basics for new gardeners 24Jul 22, 2008 11:58 pm if it works for you do it
It isn't something I would suggest to any of my customers but yeah, if it works keep doing it. I recon paper would be better served to be recycled back into more paper. I don't weed a garden before mulching properly. The mulch will smoother them enough when it's applied in the right amount and they won't get a look in to push through. It would be an odd occasion that a weed would come through. They them selves become mulch. This is how I have always done it and my customers have never had a problem. weeds don't often come from under the mulch. They blow in on the wind or are stimulated into gemination when they are disturbed in existing soils. Like weed mat under mulch as many do. W.O.F.T.A.M. that's what. weed mat only works when that is all that is used. It was meant for commercial nurseries as a cheap floor covering. However when soil builds up on it, that is what the weeds grow in and then you got weeds again. They will grow in any mulch, but in a good mulch there will be far less and they will be easier to remove. I guess paper underneath the mulch is similar. doesn't offer too much nutrients as it breaks down and won't stop weeds, they will be above not below mulches. (generally) Here's how West Aussies can make sand into soil Checkout The Forever Project Before starting your landscape attend a FREE Great Gardens workshop Re: Garden Basics for new gardeners 25Jul 23, 2008 12:15 am I might add on the mulches that the rich peaty black mulches look great. However, they do a few other things too.
1. They are rich peaty composted soils, perfect for weed seeds to blow onto and germinate. they are denser and weeds will take hold easier. They don't come from the mulch or the mower man, they come from the air, the wind. 2. They become water repellent. Once they dry they can form a crust that is very hard to get water to penetrate. wetting agents are then needed in greater amounts than alternatives. 3. They hold a lot of water. You want the water in the soil not the mulch. The effects of that is as above. and also leads to 4. 4. They encourage plant roots to grow near the surface, not deeper. The buggers are lazier than people and will get water were it is easiest, not best. If the mulch has lots of moisture then that will do It is also rich soil that the roots will have a ball in. Then they get all hot in summer, drying the plant. It is wilting easy and it's only 10am. so you water it but the water won't go in too well. Then by 1 or 2 it might need more again. That's why I like fresh mulches. Products like sugar cane mulch or lupin mulch, are also great especially because they add nitrogen to the soil in a form that is available for the plants. Straw is good but there is a bit more involved. I don't like stones because they don't feed the soil. However they do look good and are better than black peaty mulches. Re: Garden Basics for new gardeners 26Jul 23, 2008 6:31 am Oh Fu Manchu, you saved me so much work with your advice not to rake old mulch away from the beds. I was just going to do it!!! I usually start applying b&b in August but I have a largish garden and at my age I need to devide it into sections to finish feeding by September, I just cannot possibly do it in one go .
I agree completely with the comments re black mulch, have done it in previous years, hated it. I use my own shreddings from my own garden. In winter and spring I have enough prunnings to get an industrail shredder and put it back onto my garden beds. I like this practice as at least I know what I put into my soil, diseased stuff goes into the landfill. Green mulches keep moist even in a very hot dry spell. Newspapers are good if you are pereparing new garden beds, for example for a no dig garden, when you put them at the bottom and later pile manure, straw, hay, more manure b&b on top and plant your seedlings in compost on the top of the pile. However, papers used under a thin layer of mulch are not good as they for impenetrable layer for oxygen and water which needs to get to the soils for the plants to be healthy. And in response to 'chelle papers contain vegetable dyes so they are not toxic, you can safely use them. Maggie Re: Garden Basics for new gardeners 27Jul 27, 2008 10:55 pm Thanks Fu - I'm about to demolish a few large gums and a pine - due to being too close to the house etc - so will get the guys to mulch them onto the garden.
Just need to get my trusty urea and B&B onto it before then. Thanks Steve Re: Garden Basics for new gardeners 28Jul 28, 2008 8:50 am I bet your soil Steve, being Adelaide is alkaline like ours in the coastal strip of Perth, so you can safely use your pine shreddings. I frequently collect pine needles from the ECU grounds (lpcal uni) to modify pH of my soil. For those of you in areas with acid soils you might need to add some dolomite to sweeten your soils when using pine mulch.
Maggie Re: Garden Basics for new gardeners 29Jan 23, 2009 8:14 pm I know this is probably not the correct thread to ask this but I didn't want to start a new thread just for this one question.
We are renting the house next door to ours while we demolish and rebuild, we have shifted in partially but still have a lot of "culling" to do and we haven't put anything in the shed yet. My question is: The shed has a "dirt" floor and I'm wondering if I get a load of dolomite and spread on the shed floor and then water will it go hard and keep the dust down and help our belongings remain a little cleaner? Thanks, Vid Re: Garden Basics for new gardeners 30Jan 24, 2009 5:17 pm I would suggest that no it won't. get some blue metal down instead? That is the cheapest option i can think of. It would be dusty putting it down but wash it in and it would be fine. Fig Landscapes has produced an e-book and native plant index, available for purchase from their website. It's a great resource, full of inspiration and tips. Another… 1 12252 Our Bondi Greenwall was impressive from day one with advanced lush plants to provide a wow factor to this recently renovated living area. The boundary was less than 1… 0 15303 |