8/7/2019 Garden Mulches (Part 1): a step-bystep guide with Abbie and Mark Jury.

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Friday, April 1, 2011 TARANAKI DAILY  NEWS 11

GARDENING www.taranakidailynews.co.nz

GardenMulches(Part 1): a step-by-stepguidewithAbbie andMarkJury.

Photos:ABBIE JURY

There are five good reasons to mulch your garden:a) Mulches act as a weed suppressant if laid on toa depth of around 6cm (but the mulch itself needs to

ee of weeds to start with).Mulches stop the soils from drying out as quickly bying evaporation. They are very important in summerhould not be laid on ground which is already dryuse they will act as a barrier to stop water soaking iny when it rains.Some mulches will feed the soil and add valuableon content.Some mulches make a garden look more attractive.Mulches protect your soil from wind, torrential rainerosion and may slow the leaching out of goodnessell as keeping down down dust from dry, bare soil.

2Pea straw is a proven mulch over time but inTaranaki, where we do not grow peascommercially, it has a heavy carbon footprint

transporting it here. It should be weed free. It addscarbon content to the soil but it is a myth that it fixesnitrogen (peas store the nitrogen in their roots but youare only buying the harvested tops of the plants). It isbetter in the edible garden (and great for strawberries)but not very aesthetic in the ornamental garden. Expectto pay around $20 a bale. When spread this shouldcover about 6 sq metres. Water it well or the dry strawmay blow away. Oat straw and barley straw are suitablesubstitutes.

Composted bark is now widely used and lasts asurprisingly long time. Compounds in the bark stop it rotting down quickly. It adds carbon over

it should be free of weeds and it is visuallyreet in the garden because it is dark brown. Buy pre-posted bark if you can – it does not rob the soil ofgen as it breaks down. You can buy small bags but

cheaper in bulk – expect to pay around $120 perc metre. This should cover about 15 square metres.

4Limestone can be quite a stark white when firstspread but this sometimes suits modern gardens.Obviously it should be free of weeds but it adds

nothing to the soil. Once you have laid it on the garden,you will never get rid of it. Acid loving plants likerhododendrons and camellias will turn yellow if it is laidaround them because the alkaline lime will leach out.The only way to keep it clean and smart is to use ablower vac on it to remove detritus. Expect to pay

around $14 a 20 litre bag but you can buy it in largerquantities.

Fine gravel, crushed shell and scoria are similaroptions. Fine gravel is a traditional mulch forrockeries and alpine plants because it is free

ning and a neutral material. It can look a littlestrial or utility in other settings. Crushed shell isably best suited to a coastal setting – it can look aaff, otherwise. Like lime chip, it is alkaline and willh into the soils so is not suitable for acid lovingts. Scoria is best left on the shelf, unless you arethe retro 1970s look. The price of all is around $14

n bought by the bag. If you like a tidy garden, youhave to maintain with a blower vac.

6Weedmat is a commercial product designedpredominantly for nursery use. It suppressesweeds and allows rain to penetrate while

preventing excess evaporation. It should be laid tautand secured with wire hoops. It has no aesthetic valueat all and looks uniformly unattractive when used inhome gardens, but some people do not mind that. It isat least better than its precursor, black polythene, whichshould never be used as a mulch because it sours thesoil. Weedmat is bought by the roll and widths vary butit should price out around $1.25 a square metre.

● Thanks to Vince at Big Jims Garden Centre for hisassistance. In the next Outdoor Classroom, we will look at mulching options which are available free, even ifthey may take more work to assemble.

Camellia sinensisDespite being one of the first camelliasof the season to flower, Camelliasinensis is not grown for its floraldisplay but as a crop. It is the teacamellia. All tea comes from the sameplant. Whether it is green tea, oolongtea or black tea depends not on theplant variety but on how it is dried,fermented and roasted. Thepreparation of quality teas takes a skilllevel on a par with roasting coffee ormaking wine. You can, however,harvest easily for home consumption,unlike wine and coffee. Green tea isunfermented and the leaves can beused fresh or dried. Oolong tea islightly fermented (or sweated) and verylightly roasted. Further along the lineis the fully fermented and roasted blacktea. For the very best quality, you onlypick the three leaves of fresh growth.

By picking, you encourage the plant tocontinue pushing out fresh growth.

Camellias, as we all know, growextremely well in New Zealand. The

first attempts to growsinensis commerciallyfailed because of thesite – cold inlandvalleys of Nelson. Thefrosts burned thedesirable new growths.There is now aTaiwanese plantation

near Hamilton whichspecialises in highquality oolong tea forthe Chinese market.Most C. sinensis flowerwhite. This form hasflowers in dusky pink,but still tiny. Theleaves are not like acommon shinyjaponica, being longer,crinkly and softer. Wegrow it in the vegetablegarden and keep it toabout 1.5m high x 1.2 mwide. ShouldArmageddon strike, wewill have to drop coffeeoff the menu but we canstill drink tea. I will

just have to find out which bergamot isadded in order to replicate ourfavourite Earl Grey tea.

– Abbie Jury

Kerdalo, FranceA Russo-Polishprince,PeterWolkonsky,but thisBrittany farmin 1965 and,afterrefurbishingthehouse,turnedits valley setting intoa botanicaltreasureland.

An artist, Wolkonsky broughthis skillsto thedesign and useofplants. The result isa mix of styles,everythingfrom romantic to oriental. Thereare brottos, fountains,statues,bog gardens,lakesandponds.