Re: Mulch vs reseed?
- Subject: Re: Mulch vs reseed?
- From: T* &* M* R*
- Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 10:02:06 +1200
susannah wrote:
>
> Hi Nan --
>
> What I do in cases like this is just top-dress with compost when the plants
> are reasonably tall (6" or so). This gives some organic matter to the soil
> but also (by the time the seeds are falling, at least) is a substance in
> which they can grow easily. It is kind of tricky figuring out when and
> where you can squeeze a bit of compost in between the plants :-). I'm sure
> I end up doing less amending than I would if I weren't trying to let them
> reseed, but I try to tell myself that next year's plants will be in
> slightly different places and everywhere will eventually get some
> compost. I'm assuming organic matter is your main concern, since once
> these puppies get reseeding I don't think there'll be any space for
> weeds! And being all extremely drought-tolerant, you're probably not
> worried about water, unless San Diego is a lot hotter than I imagine.
Susanna
Compost is indeed a simple answer, as it is so much more concentrated
and consequently an inch or so is all that is needed to supply the soil
with the same amount of useful humus as several inches of loose mulch..
The only reason I didn't suggest it in my posting was that it is usually
recommended to apply it in hot weather only with a covering mulch to
protect it from drying out, as this will destroy many of the useful
organisms it contains. However, I guess if it is applied among the
plants while they are growing it would get pretty good protection from
them anyway and at the very least the humus will feed the population
already in the soil and maintain the good texture..
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata (near Wellington, capital city of New Zealand)
