Re: Mulch vs reseed?
- Subject: Re: Mulch vs reseed?
- From: M* T*
- Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 04:51:30 -0400
Well, Nan, you don't absolutely *have* to mulch garden beds, it's
just a good thing if you can do it.
If you don't have the time or patience to insert handfuls of mulch
between the riotously growing flowers, and they're pretty well packed
together, I'd forget the mulching and just let them reseed and have
at it.
Now, in nature, plants go to seed and die and fall to the ground and
provide the next generation with mulch and seedlings manage to find
their way to the light. What you might do is wait until all the
plants have reseeded and died out and then remove the corpses and
apply a light mulch of chopped leaves - would help feed the soil and
not be too heavy. Those poppies don't necessarily want to be
covered.
Or, you can cut the seed heads when ripe and throw them in a brown
paper bag; clean out the bed and mulch and scatter the seeds on top
of the mulch...seeds will sprout quite nicely on top of mulch.
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor: Gardening in Shade
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> From: Nan Sterman <nsterman@plantsoup.com>
>
> As I look at my "citrus hill" covered in riotous bloom of sweet
pea,
> hybrid poppies and california poppies, I realize I am about to face
a
> long time dilemma and need your advice.
>
> When/how do you mulch a flower bed that you want to reseed itself?
>
> If I put on three inches of mulch after the seeds have fallen, they
> won't resprout.
> If I mulch now, I'll bury the plants
> Do I give up mulching alltogether?
>
> What do you advise?
>
> Nan
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