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Show i I, i I, i iii'- mmut I ' - ..y tfHyQ&tr r Y i c i i - ' 1 it J j. 1' Mulch spread 3 to 6 inches deep around plants reduces water I loss during hot summer days. Mulches For Your Garden Reduces Water Losses BYKirkG.Heaton District Conservationist Mulches can make gardens . better. They can prevent soil blowing or washing. They help keep weeds down and they keep the soil moist and cool .and add organic ihatter. Sawdust, grass clippings,' straw and compost are excellent excel-lent mulches and they are easy to apply. Just spread a 3 to 6 inch layer of one of these suggested materials around your plants on the soil surface (be sure you don't cover your plants.) It's important that you keep the mulch thick enough to do the job which may mean adding more mulch during the season. Sometimes a mixture of different mulches is good to prevent packing. Sawdust is available from local sawmills or old sawmill sites. Well rotted sawdust may not require addition of nitrogen. However, 'if new sawdust is used you may want to add 1 to 2 cups of ammonium sulfate to each bushel of fresh sawdust. Only one cup of ammonium nitrate should be sufficient. Weed-free straw works well . but loose straw can be a fire hazard. Compost is the best mulch you can use. Your garden plant leftovers, tree leaves or lawn clippings are good sources of material from which to make compost. You can make compost bins yourself by .attaching ordinary fence wire or boards to solid posts or open brick work. Each bin should be 4 to 6 feet high and 3 to 5 feet wide and any convenient length. Make one side removable so you can add and remove compost material. Use two bins and fill one with alternate layers of organic material 6 to 12 inches thick and garden soil one inch thick. To each layer of organic material add 1 cup ammonium sulfate or other suitable nitrogen source per bushel or organic material. Moisten, each layer of organic material before adding the soil layer. Repeat the layering process until the bin is full or you run out of organic material. Pack the material tightly around the edges but only lightly in the center so that this area settles more than the edges and the water doesn't run off. After 3 to 4 months of moderate to warm weather, either May or June begin turning the material by moving from the first bin to the second. After turning the material once, it should be ready for use in your garden, around perennials in the fall and as mulch for your garden the next spring. If you aren't able to turn it, composting will take longer but will still work. Some information for this article was taken from USD A Home Garden Bulletin No. 185. |
