Kitty Scully talks hoes and mulches

Kitty Scully says top dressing beds controls weeds, conserves moisture in summer and protects plants in winter.

THE capricious climate of last month has left plants sitting in the soil, wondering if they should risk growth or not.

However, weeds lack the same sensitivity and, at this time of year, they will go wild if not kept under control.

Despite the rainfall of last month, if you have clay soil, like we do in Airfield, it soon dries out, so watering is required regularly.

At the moment, the main job is to hoe, hoe, hoe, but perhaps a more astute option, for weed and moisture management, is to mulch, mulch, mulch.

Mulching

It may just sound like jargon, but mulching is the key to a healthy organic garden. A mulch is simply a material to cover the soil’s surface.

Mulching controls weeds, conserve moistures; protects soil structure; prevents leaching of nutrients; keeps crops clean and maintains consistent soil temperatures.

Mulches create favorable conditions for earthworms, by retaining soil moisture in the summer and insulating from frost in winter. The thickness of the mulch is imperative.

If it is not applied densely, it rots down too quickly, leaving soil bare. If it is laid too thick, it can impede the growth of crops.

It can also prevent the spreading of disease and specific mulches enrich the soil with organic matter and can improve the aesthetics of your garden.

For example, strawberries are best grown under a mulch, to prevent competition from weeds and to keep the fruits clean, and the traditional mulching material for strawberries is, not surprisingly, straw.

However, a new product on the market, called ‘Strulch’, caught my eye earlier this year and we have mulched our newly planted strawberry patch with this mineralised straw, which we hope will last up to two years.

It certainly looks good, with its earthy brown colour, and if it does what it says on the tin, it will act as a slug and snail deterrent, as well.

In winter, mulches protect plants from frost. By covering bare soil, you will prevent soil erosion and the loss of excess nutrients through leaching.

During the growing season, mulches can be applied to warm soil, before planting, and a covering can be applied around plants to suppress weeds and retain moisture.

Organic mulches can be divided into those that decompose into soil-building, organic matter that’s also nutrient-rich — like compost, seaweed, grass clippings, leaf mould, wilted comfrey leaves, straw, etc — and those used to suppress weeds and conserve moisture (newspapers, cardboard, sawdust, wood chips etc.). Non-organic mulches include black plastic, mypex and gravel.

A mulch should be applied thickly to ensure that light is obscured and weed growth is smothered.

A few inches of mulch should do the trick, and a combination of inorganic and organic mulches, such as cardboard layered with bark mulch, will be more effective for weed control and aesthetics.

Organic mulches, such as compost and farmyard manure, should be well-decomposed before applying around plants, or else they will rob the soil of nitrogen as they break down.

Mulch when your garden soil is just how you like it. If you mulch overly damp, cold soil, it will stay that way, and if soil is dry, make sure to water it well before applying any mulch material.

It is also important to remove pernicious and perennial weeds, before mulch application, as they, too, will benefit from an organic mulch and will grow even stronger.

It is common for perennial weeds to push through mulch and, in this instance, roots need simply to be dug out.

The choice of mulching material is wide, but which is the best? I’m all about keeping things local, so the best mulch is that which is most accessible.

Often, the disposal of grass clippings can be a household problem, but they make a fabulous, nutrient- and nitrogen-rich mulch, when applied with care and in moderation.

Never use grass clippings from an area that has been sprayed with weedkiller and leave your clippings cool off and dry out, before applying.

Do not place clippings in a thick layer, as you will create a hot, slimy mat that will do more harm to your plants than good. You can use layers of newspaper,as a barrier between fresh clippings and your plants.

Apply a couple of inches and replenish as the clippings break down, or weekly as you mow. It saves labour and waste and too many trips to the compost heap and is a a very sustainable and handy way to maintain flower and vegetable beds in the garden.

Remember to keep organic mulches away from the stems of plants, as diseases like rot may set in.

One of the main disadvantages of mulching is that the damp, dark conditions created are the perfect lodgings for those unwanted garden guests slugs, which I will examine in detail next week.

* ‘Strulch’ is available to buy from the mail order company, Fruit Hill Farm, based in Bantry, Co Cork ( www.fruithillfarm.com ).