11 minute read
The Magic Of Mulch
Carbon Gardening And The Magic Of Mulch
Like it or not climate crisis is upon us. This time, ten years ago, I drove home excitedly with a van full of plants to start my new garden. It wasn’t a great start. An arctic snap with heavy snow froze them all dead in their pots. Since then, snow has become a distant memory, and I can count on one hand the frosts this season. Winters are milder. Unpredictable weather patterns challenge our gardens. Take the heatwave of summer 2018, a prolonged drought followed by little rainfall through to summer 2019. Then came a year’s worth of rainfall in one month with some of the worst local flooding in the UK. Gardening to combat climate change We all contribute to global CO 2 emissions. While it’s easy to blame landowners and farmers for habitat loss, soil degradation and environmental crises, I feel it’s time we gardeners shouldered some responsibility for our own patch of land. Individually you might wonder what difference your garden makes, but collectively our UK gardens reportedly cover 1 million acres. Together gardeners have the opportunity to help combat climate change with a resource right under our feet: Soil. Soil as a carbon sink As plants grow, they photosynthesise, drawing CO 2 from the atmosphere, depositing it in the soil as carbon. Our soil becomes a Carbon sink. The potential for soil to sequester CO 2 from the atmosphere is well documented. Scientists claim agricultural land worldwide could sequester up to 1.85 billion tonnes of carbon per year, becoming an important pathway towards limiting global warming to the 2ºC target of the Paris Climate Agreement 2015. So how do we capture carbon in our gardens? Undisturbed, soil can lock carbon for thousands of years in the form of soil organic matter. Soil with a higher organic content is darker, more fertile and has capacity to store more carbon. However, once the soil is disturbed, by hoeing, tilling, rotavating or in agriculture through ploughing, the carbon stored safely in our soil oxidises on contact with the air and is released back into the atmosphere as CO 2 . So how do we maximise carbon capture and storage in our gardens? Simple. Improve your soil and don’t dig. Start by incorporating compost or soil conditioner which improves your soil’s organic matter. As a guide, I work on a 50mm layer of soil conditioner per m 2 of soil. Clay and sandy soils could require more. Soil conditioners are readily available bagged or loose, with a choice of composted farmyard manure, spent mushroom compost, composted green waste, or even better make your own compost like we do from farmyard manure and garden waste. Once you have cultivated your soil, tickled in the soil conditioner, raked it level, planted your border or sown your vegetables, that’s it. Job done. You leave it alone, never dig it, fork it, tickle it, hoe it, or reach for the rotavator again. Next, keep your soil friable, weeds at bay and lock in the carbon by adding a mulch. The magic of mulch Mulch is a layer of organic material spread over your soil’s surface. Mulch can be composted bark or wood chips, chopped straw (Strulch), leaf mould or composted green waste. Home-made mulches include shredded garden prunings, (avoid conifers), Landscape designer Sarah Murch urges gardeners to step up to the climate crisis challenge this spring.
I regularly spread armfuls of nettles and comfrey leaves around shrubs and sprinkle fresh grass clippings liberally around my vegetables (just be careful they don’t burn off any tiny seedlings though). It’s like wrapping your plants in a feather duvet, and they love it.
To work properly, spread your mulch in a 50mm deep layer, then sit back and watch magic happen in your garden.
Advantages of mulch and soil conditioners. 1. Reduced weed growth: you will save hours weeding. 2.Improved soil structure: your soil will neither compact nor erode, has better root penetration, worms dragging organic matter through the soil aerate it, leading to increased water absorption and decreased flooding. 3.Increased soil fertility: mulching prevents leaching and loss of soil nutrients through oxidation. Soil conditioner provides nutrients, resulting in better plant growth. 4.Retained soil moisture: increasing your soil’s organic content and adding a mulch means little or no watering is required, plants survive drought better. 5.Ecologically friendly: a mulch provides a habitat layer for amphibians and invertebrates, increasing biodiversity and bringing wildlife to your garden. Worms love it and birds love the worms. 6.Improved soil health: both mulches and soil conditioners increase your soil’s microbial activity, keeping it alive and healthy, boosting soil bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi which are vital for plant health. A healthy soil = a healthy garden= less pests and diseases. 7. Increased plant growth = increased carbon sequestering. 8.Increased soil organic matter = increased carbon storage.
Which mulch is best for borders? I prefer a heavier type bark mulch for borders. It lasts a few years before needing topping up. We use composted wood chip, a byproduct from local tree surgeons with a low carbon footprint. Never use fresh wood chip, it depletes the soil of nitrates as it decomposes.
When is the best time to mulch? Easiest is Spring, when soils are moist, winter foliage is cut back, before plants and bulbs come into growth and you can access your borders.
How do you apply a mulch? Use upturned plant pots to cover plants or bulbs in growth. Simply tip a wheelbarrow or bag of mulch directly over them, then lift the pots, free the plants and spread your mulch evenly.
How do you apply soil conditioner in a border full of plants? Simply spread a 50mm layer on your soil, tickle it in and let the worms drag it down for you. Top it with a mulch.
How do you work a no-dig vegetable plot? Keep your soil covered (with mulch, compost, old carpet, cardboard, landscape membrane, sow green manures between crops) Simply pull the mulch aside to sow a row of seeds. Avoid treading on the soil, lay out your beds to be accessible or work from boards.
Opposite: Tulipa Spring Green with fragrant Narcissus Thalia at Ellicar Gardens. Top: Mulch is a great habitat for frogs and toads, keeping them cool in Summer and protected in Winter. This image: Muscari armeniacum and Caltha palustris emerging from a mulch layer in Spring at Ellicar Gardens. Below: Pekin chickens at Ellicar Gardens, mulch covers an informal pathway through the borders. All imagery courtesy of Sarah Murch.
Suppliers: www.cpa-horticulture.co.uk A wide range of ornamental mulches, soil conditioners and composts, supplied bagged and loose nationally. www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk A range of peat free, sustainable, organic composts and soil conditioners made in the Lake District using sheep’s wool and bracken. www.strulch.co.uk An organic wheat straw mulch, pleasant and easy to use.
So, if you are tempted by less weeding, less watering, no digging, a healthier garden, increased plant growth, more wildlife, and more time to relax and enjoy your garden, and at the same time sequester CO 2 , hopefully you know what to do.
Visit Ellicar Gardens this Spring 21st February, 6th March, 11am-3pm. 10th & 24th April 11am-4pm See www.ellicargardens.co.uk for more opening times, directions, information and events.
Ellicar Gardens, Carr Road, Gringley on the Hill, Doncaster, DN10 4SN 01777 817218 • sarah@ellicargardens.co.uk • www.ellicargardens. co.uk
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