So first a little explanation of why this is subscriber only……
Years of working in horticulture, degrees, diplomas and even a masters degree has bought me to the conclusion that none of us really know anything until we set theory aside once we have learned it, and drive our passion for growing through practice. Theory is very useful. But practice teaches you that practical learning is the only thing that supports the huge differentials brought about by weather, different types of soil, aspect……. The list is literally endless.
So this is going to be a weekly catch up that supports you to be a better gardener or grower based on the 30 years of both theory and practice I have amassed. Hence I’m asking folk to subscribe to this part of my site.
So let’s begin at the beginning.
I could go into what I’ve sown, what I’ve planted, but there is no point in doing any of that until we have talked about soil. Because it is soil that is core. It’s the 6inches of top soil that our gardens and farms and market gardens and forests and woodlands and meadows and wetlands rely on, and that support life. In fact 95% of our food relies on that top soil.
And soil, healthy soil, has more organisms in one teaspoon of it than humans are on the planet. It’s an ecosystem all of its own and whatever you are growing, healthy soil is the key.
Rich, dark, fertile soil doesn’t come from digging or fertilising. Healthy soil comes from letting the soil manage itself with minimum intervention. And it takes time. There is no quick fix, but if you start today you’ll see a difference in one season. And the only thing you need to do is mulch.
Now I hear a ton of people shout that mulch is expensive and of course it is if you’re relying on shop bought compost, but there are far cheaper ways to find good mulching material.
A mulch just needs to be organic matter! Any organic matter. I doesn’t need to be the best potting compost, or even compost at all. I’ve used fresh woodchip, composted woodchip, well matured farmyard manure, sheeps wool, both straight from the sheep and as a product that’s been processed, spent hops, chopped up autumn leaves, leaf mould, chopped and dropped plant material…..
The list is endless. It just needs to be an organic material that the soil life can pull down into the soil, feeding the ecosystem in the soil. The earthworms, the nematodes, beetles, Protozoa, bacteria and fungi, the sprintails, mites, centipedes, spiders, and ants. And keeping that ecosystem healthy and in balance.
You don’t need tons! I use half a centimetre or so probably twice a year, and much that up with summer mulched of chopped and dropped prunings, chopped up comfrey and nettle,( long before they flower!) and the occasional bag of compost if I’m feeling flush. I also use compost from containers if I’m refreshing what’s in them, because mulch doesn’t need to be nutritious per se, it just needs to be organic matter. What the ecosystem does to it creates all the nutrients-we just need to be the conduit to get that matter onto the soil.
There’s no specific time of year to mulch-you can do it anytime, but spring is particularly good when there’s been loads of rain because mulch will support the soil to keep the water where we want it, rather than bare soil that allows the water to evaporate and disappear.
So before we get into anything else, go out and look at your soil, see what you can find, and get mulching!!