The Stray Gardener is written by Rudding Park’s Kitchen Gardener, Fiona Slight.

Fiona has worked in horticulture for over 30 years in the UK and abroad, and specialises in growing fruit and vegetables for fine dining. 

 

Mulches are a loose covering of organic matter over the surface of the soil that can be used on garden borders, vegetable beds, underneath trees and shrubs and on containers. If there is one thing you do this spring, get mulching!

February and March are the perfect months for mulching your garden, "but why mulch?" I hear you say. Well, for lots of reasons, including; reducing water loss in hot weather, suppressing weeds, making your beds, borders and pots look neat and tidy, reduce time spent weeding, allow rain to penetrate the soil more easily, avoiding run off and puddling. Mulches break down gradually into the soil and help improve its structure and fertility.

The mulches I prefer to use are:

Garden compost, everyone should have a compost bin or three! Made well, this is the nectar of the gods for plants and is well worth making and is not difficult.

Wood chippings, these are much better used once rotted down, especially useful under trees and on shrub borders, it is also useful for paths in a woodland setting. I even use them on the paths around my vegetable beds at home to suppress weeds and to encourage more beneficial insects and wildlife into the garden. Most local tree surgeons are happy to supply wood chip.

Bark chippings, are a good option and can be sourced at your local garden centre or online, works very similarly to wood chippings but does tend to have a much nicer finish and aroma, well worth using on the tops of pots to give a more natural finish.

Leaf mould, another wonderful home-made product, and even with an estate covered in trees here at Rudding Park, and a massive team effort in autumn to collect them, there is never enough! Teeming with microorganisms, it is hugely beneficial to the soil. Plus, if you make your own, there are no air miles and no carbon footprint!

Well-rotted manures as long as they have been allowed to rot down properly most animal manures will work really well, but my personal favourite is horse manure.

Mulch is best applied to at least 7.5cm or 3inches thick in spring from February onwards before weeds start to grow and herbaceous plants are still dormant. It’s a good idea to get it on before your spring flowering bulbs get too big and could be damaged whilst putting the mulch on. Be careful around low growing herbaceous plants, try not to smother them. Don’t spread it right up to the stems of trees and shrubs, leave a little space around the stem to allow air in and to avoid the chances of rotting off.

Don’t be stingy, it’s really important to get a good, thick layer down, this will help suppress annual weeds and insulate the soil better reducing the amount of water evaporating, and the amount of time you may have to water in the summer.

Try and avoid fresh material, to be at its most useful it needs time to rot down. Microorganisms in the soil can be encouraged to grow and use up reserves of Nitrogen, leaving less available for plant growth. If you are fortunate enough to have fresh material, store it somewhere for a few weeks to break down before adding.

Happy Mulching!

Read More: 

• The Stray Gardener: On your marks, get set, grow!


• The Stray Gardener: Time for evergreens to shine