This month I’m diverted from the Healthy Soil Project in response to questions about mulching fruit trees. When I realised I didn’t have this info on the website, I just had to remedy it because mulching time is nigh and so I bring you How to mulch fruit trees – hot off the press: the best mulch to use, how to make your own fruit tree specific mulch, how to tell whether your trees even need mulch – all of it.
Mulch is a big part of healthy soil, so consider this a kink in the road – I’ll be back on track with the Healthy Soil Project #3, next month.
Yours in the earth
❤️ Kath
Hi Kath, Do you have a show garden or working vege garden. I am in Foxton, and have just
been allowed a garden space on my sons state house property. I have grown a few things, and eaten them, and now want to grow through the winter,
Kind regards,
shona
Yes I do Shona – all the info on this very website about tours events etc, but I am closed right now until the world is healed 🙂
Hi Kath
We are about to embark on making planter boxes / digging up dry baron lawn in our rental (with permission as we will be here long term). We plan to purchase vegetable mix/organic compost from a landscape yard here in Palmerston North and because of this how would you suggest building the soil in a 200mm high x 2.4m x length x 1.2m wide boxed garden? I am just starting out and have never grown amazing vege besides mint. I love the idea of how you garden instead of the garden we grew up with which was lines and laden with chemicals- i swear my dad had a bottle of poison for everything and avid lover of deris dust, roundup and goodness knows what else!
Currently i have just managed to get on top of the white butterflys that had laid riddled my handful of Broc/Pak choi and learnt my first lesson of winter seedlings and leaving them unattended. Old net curtains and pegs have secured my small planter box for now until we build larger raised garden boxes and will look into your suggestion of wondermesh for the future.
Many thanks
Coral
Hi Coral Im not too sure what your question is here. You are building vegie boxes and buying in compost. After that what would you like to know 🙂
Hi kath so sorry, half of my message was not attached, and yes made no sense!.
So we are building and making a raised vegetable patch directly on top of the dry clay based lawn in our backyard. How would we layer the vegetable bed bearing in mind we are starting from scratch? Do we place say cardboard for example on top of the old lawn bed then compost then vegetable soil mix and turn in manure or is it better to just infill with an organic vegetable potting mix and leave as is? The original lawn/soil underneath is near barren so going forward how would we create healthy soil again?
Our climate is similar and hoping to get some advise before purchasing materials & planting in our seedlings in the hopes we have vegetables to eat during winter this year.
We have found a local landscape/bulk bin yard who supply organic compost and vegetable mix to avoid bagged mixtures.
I hope this makes a little more sense.
Many thanks
Hi Coral – all those options will bring the life back into the soil. Dont think too hard about it, just keep it natural and use what you’ve got. I am, in this months newsletter doing a post about beginning a garden from scratch if you need more detail here. Enjoy!
Kath
Thank you for the detailed guide on mulching fruit trees, Kath! I’ve been hesitant about mulching, unsure of the best materials and methods. Your advice on using organic mulch and applying it correctly has given me the confidence to proceed. Looking forward to seeing the benefits in my garden!