With all the wonderful spring rains and the official news from Victoria's premier, (as if in the middle of a flood we needed to be told), that the drought has broken, it is easy to forget there could still be a long dry summer and parched earth ahead.
While lucerne hay is my favourite mulch, it is also costly so I am always on the lookout for quality mulch at an affordable price. I have found my answer over the past 12 months and that is in doing the community service of maintaining the free flowing road gutters in our country road. All the free leaf letter and twigs mulch I want and I can build my garden 200 cm or 8 " thick with mulch (pulled away from contact with the plant's stem), this saves me weeding and watering time and keeps the plant roots cooler in summer and with a lot less moisture evaporation.
If you are mulching, (and I do it every springtime), try to get the mulch on after a good soaking, once the soil has warmed and before the heat of summer, late springtime is ideal.
Well-rotted organic matter is far better than raw wood chips which cause deficiencies in the soil.
While lucerne hay is my favourite mulch, it is also costly so I am always on the lookout for quality mulch at an affordable price. I have found my answer over the past 12 months and that is in doing the community service of maintaining the free flowing road gutters in our country road. All the free leaf letter and twigs mulch I want and I can build my garden 200 cm or 8 " thick with mulch (pulled away from contact with the plant's stem), this saves me weeding and watering time and keeps the plant roots cooler in summer and with a lot less moisture evaporation.
If you are mulching, (and I do it every springtime), try to get the mulch on after a good soaking, once the soil has warmed and before the heat of summer, late springtime is ideal.
Well-rotted organic matter is far better than raw wood chips which cause deficiencies in the soil.
