Mulch, compost, turning the soil, HELP!!
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I run into this confusion every spring. I want to keep my soil healthy. During the summer I keep wood mulch on my flower beds, 2"-3" - it helps hold in moisture, prevent erosion, looks good, keeps weeds down, etc. In the fall, I rake leaves on my beds for insulation, and the decomposition over the winter is good for the soil, right? So now, snow is melted...do I rake off leaves (they don't all decompose fully)? do I just till it all in...I think the remainder will aerate the soil, eventually decompose and add nutrients...and then if I do till the bed, I have access to compost I could add as well. BUT, what about the mulch?? Should I rake that off then put it back?? Till that in too? Of course that has thinned over the year, but in some spots its still a decent thickness. Or...do I just "spot" fertilize and add compost to the holes I dig when planting?? I have not put mulch on my vegetable garden because of this dilemma. Also...chicken poop...good fertilizer?? Can you use too much?
Crocuses poking through the blanket of leaves
View of mulch from a couple summers ago...
8 answers
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I'm one of the people who doesn't advocate cultivating the soil once it is planted...I feel you just promote weeds by disturbing the soil. The rotting of the mulch and the leaves is adding to your soil composition. I usually add some fertilizer, the liquid kind, to those plants that require more nutrients but not to the whole garden. Some plants, like lavender, and nearly all the drought tolerant and native plants should not be fertilized even in poor soil (unless they are doing poorly). You say you have access to compost so it sounds as though you don't keep your own compost pile??? Be careful of the 'compost' of someone else unless you know their methods and what it is. If it isn't kept hot enough, for instance, and they add weeds, etc. into the mix, it might be full of weed seeds. As far as chicken manure...it can be a good additive to a compost pile but not too much and it should be fairly fresh. Some people leave manure (horse, goat, rabbit, chicken) out in the rain and then say it is composted...well all the nutrients drained out into the soil if they didn't add it to a controlled compost pile. If it was me, I would carefully rake off the leaves, put a layer of them in a pile with a thin layer of chicken manure, maybe some soil, another layer of some green material (like weeds that haven't gone to seed), then another layer of the partially rotted leaves, etc. If it is moist, let it go until it dries a little then wet it down or, if you are having a lot of rain, cover it with a tarp or plastic so it doesn't get too soggy. After a month or so, take a manure or pitch fork and turn this pile to get some air into it, check for moisture (don't let it get too soggy or dry) and continue to add to it. Then, after it is a rich dark color, you can top dress your garden with it...pull the mulch back with a rake, put a few shovels of the compost around the plants and then rake the mulch back around the plant. Your plants will 'tell' you if you are doing it correctly...the leaves will be healthy looking, the blooms will be big and stunning and the veggies will 'thank you' with a bountiful harvest.
Bonny McDaniel
on Apr 30, 2015
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I agree withBonny from CA, I also go to coffee house's and ask for the coffee grounds at the end of the day and spread this on the groound as well, its a good soil enricher . Regards Rod Smith ,UK England.
Rod smith
on Apr 30, 2015
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I recently purchased 2 hibiscus tree type plants. One looks healthy and has put off several flowers. The other is not doing as well. A lot of the leaves are turning yellow and falling off. This one has yet to product any flowers. I feet and water both the same. What am I doing wrong.
Beverly
on Apr 30, 2015
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Try soaking the yellowing plant in a larger bucket of water for a few hours in order to saturate the soil and get to the roots. Sounds like it could be that the roots are bound up in hardened soil and the water isn't getting to them and is falling off the soil instead of penetrating to the roots.
KiKii Mayfield
on Apr 30, 2015
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If your mulch is made up of the smaller wood chips, you can go ahead and till both that and the leaves into the soil. If it's the larger chips, I would suggest you rake those off, first. Since you are using both wood chip mulch and leaves, please check your pH periodically. Both those materials are acid based and over time their break down can make the soil too acidic for some plants. If you do till, use some layers of black and white newspaper (wetted) around your plants before adding your mulch. It will help smother out those weed seedlings and draw the worms. Since you don't have room for a compost bin outside, you might want to consider purchasing a Bokashi bucket. You can compost in the house in the bucket and use the "juice" and finished product in your garden. Great stuff and greatly enhances the quality of your soil. It will also help draw the worms for a second bit of "compost". ^-^
Catherine Smith
on May 01, 2015
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I would leave it as it is. Unless your plants are very hungry the rotting leaves should do the trick. Works in forests
Alyson Hogarth Laydon
on May 01, 2015
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You sound like me. I try to make things more difficult than they actually are. Everything should be fine just as it is. If your plants are coming up every year/growing back every year and look healthy, then why change it up? Let nature do its thing, which (in this case) is slowly breaking down the nutrients and decomposing the bark (mulch), leaves, and whatever other veggies you discard in your garden beds. By the way, you CAN compost even if you don't have room to compost. Especially if you already have a layer of mulch over everything. Simply rake the mulch lightly anywhere in your bed but try to do it as near to plants as possible without disturbing, discard your banana peels, veggie/fruit scraps, coffee grounds, etc. and then put the layer of mulch back where it was over top of the compost and water that area thoroughly. The compost will slowly break down and provide nutrients in that area of the garden bed.
Jennifer
on May 01, 2015
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Most mulch needs an overlay every one or two years if you want the look of such. I have leaves left all over too and just add more mulch on top. Bonnie is right about not tilling, I had to learn the hard way. Weeds love to grow in new tilled or overturned dirt.
Creativeme
on May 02, 2015
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