Hosepipe Ban

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by JWK, Jun 29, 2018.

  1. Verdun

    Verdun Passionate gardener

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    Further to my advocating to mulch as much as possible to counter water shortages, a well known local rose grower announced on the radio today that although he hasnt watered his roses, and he hasnt had rain, they are doing well; he mulches heavily.:)
     
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      Last edited: Jul 22, 2018
    • Verdun

      Verdun Passionate gardener

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      IMG_4626.JPG Just cut front lawn, last watered 5 days ago, some rain on Saturday morning and just a little overnight in mid week. It was generously top dressed (mulched) in April and before that in October and I think this has helped keep grass green over this very hot, dry summer:)
       
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      • ARMANDII

        ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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        I don't think anyone is advocating not mulching, Verdun:dunno::snorky: But I think it's just plain logic and physics that mulching over the arid, dry soil that this year's prolonged hot, dry, heat wave has produced would not be wise as it would not retain any moisture because there isn't any left in most peoples soils. But what would be practical is to soak the soil first and then mulch over it and that would then make it worthwhile and help retain the moisture.:thumbsup::snorky:
         
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        • Marley Farley

          Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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          I have to say that I had about a 4” mulch everywhere but have increased it to about 6 around some plants and shrubs, it makes a huge huge difference to my garden anyway as I have beautiful black loam soil, but it’s very very free draining and it just shrinks away.. You can see that in places I don’t mulch..
          It does help to keep the roots cooler even if everything is dry, so I believe in mulching away wet or dry.. :spinning:
           
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          • Verdun

            Verdun Passionate gardener

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            ARMANDII.....I have been trying to convey the message to mulch over MOIST soil not over dry soil. Not once have I suggested anybody should mulch a dry soil. I have consistently been very clear about this

            My point is that a mulch, applied correctly as above, does indeed help conserve moisture. Here the front garden is a light sandy loam but heavily top dressed over the years, esp over a damp soil every spring, and it certainly helps retain moisture in the soil.
            And, always apply mulch over damp soil .....this is something I have repeatedly said. I have also said that anything freshly planted should be watered well and then mulched.

            I am simply trying to encourage folk to mulch if they can.....:)
            Just as Marley has done so do I....it works :)
             
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            • pete

              pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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              I wondered where I was going wrong:biggrin:
              My lawn, last watered 1985, and I've never top dressed it.;)
              DSC_0432.JPG
               
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              • pete

                pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                I'd be interested as to what you use for mulching, buying bags of bark etc is pretty expensive.
                 
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                • kindredspirit

                  kindredspirit Gardening around a big Puddle. :)

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                  I use leaf mould that I get from a nearby house that has a very, very long tree-lined drive.

                  Nothing beats leaf mould for mulch as it is copying nature.
                   
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                  • Verdun

                    Verdun Passionate gardener

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                    Well I have watered mine since 1985 Pete. :)
                    And I have watered this summer.

                    However, my lawn would once turn yellow very quickly during any dry spell, hot sun or not and this does not happen now.

                    Not sure the material is esp important but I have never used bark nor would I want to on a lawn

                    Last autumn I mixed equal parts of my own top soil with mpc and brushed this into the lawn surface; repeated in early spring this year. (I felt we were due a hot summer this year....I even said so on the forum). I top dress for two reasons....to help maintain lawn level and to protect the grass roots from the drying sun. I also do a third thing, viz., raise the mowing cut.

                    I have used mushroom compost...... cheaply bought as a lorry load....and plenty of pure leaf mould. A few years back, when it was acceptable, I used peat. Also used council compost but found this too lumpy (besides the quality of it, plus not knowing exactly what pernicious weeds might be in the mix so no longer used here). Fresh seaweed applied in large quantities in autumn was also applied; come spring esp after mowing, the remnants broke down beautifully in spring

                    Try it Pete.

                    My lawns are not huge..... front is about 150 sq yards; the back a little less

                    For the record, I will be top dressing my niece's new build turf this autumn such is my conviction of the value of it :)

                    Just missed kindred spirit's post....agree, leaf mould, if one can still get it, is excellent.
                     
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                    • ARMANDII

                      ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                      I just use thick layers of garden compost, pete, as it is quite dense in nature.......and it's costs me nothing:thumbsup:
                       
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                      • Ned

                        Ned Evaporated

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                        I wouldn`t have thought anyone in their right mind would consider putting mulch down on bone dry soil (mind you, I can think of one or two who might)
                        As I cut down faded blooms at the moment, I water well, and mulch over the ensuing bare patch.
                        Not sure about logic or physics, I call it common sense. :)
                         
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                        • Ned

                          Ned Evaporated

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                          I agree @kindredspirit, and all you need to do is collect up the leaves in autumn and let them rot down - not costly at all.
                          I bought a bulk load of ''peat plus'' some months ago from a Norfolk firm (eBay) So far it seems to be improving the soil very well in my garden and feeding the plants, as well as retaining precious moisture. In the past I`ve found spent mushroom compost very good.
                           
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                          • pete

                            pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                            Mushroom compost about £80 for a bulk bag, yep, too much for me, and I never manage to make enough compost, its a long winded process where by 3ft ends up at 6 inches or less.
                            I get leaves in the autumn, but as to making leaf mould, yep two years wait and a similar pitiful amount.

                            I could bugger about top dressing the lawn in spring, but of all the plants I grow, grass is the bottom of the list when it comes to wasting water, I'll leave that to the golf courses;)
                            One week of rain and it will be back, as green as grass.:)

                            I'm thinking of getting a decent shredder as I get quite a lot of prunings in winter.
                             
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                            • ARMANDII

                              ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                              So do I, Tetters, but we have members who are new, inexperienced, gardeners with no real knowledge who might have gone ahead and mulched on soil that was bone dry. Verdun's first post just advocated mulching with no recommendation, or mention, not to mulch on dry soil and that was why I highlighted the fact that mulching would only work if there was actual moisture in the soil. So if the soil is bone dry......don't mulch it until it's been soaked.
                              To be honest, I couldn't see any mention of wet soil until Verdun clarified in his later post highlighting that mulching should be done when soil is wet. So, in my first post, I was raising the point so that inexperienced members would not go out and try mulching if they had bone dry soil and Verdon responded by confirming that mulching should be done on soil with moisture in it. My point being that we need to take into account all levels of gardening experience and comprehensive advice needs to cover as much information as possible. The number of times my inexperience of gardening in the early years caused me to take advice on face value is too numerous to count.:wallbanging::doh::heehee:
                               
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                              • Verdun

                                Verdun Passionate gardener

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                                Ah! I remember you saying that Tetters. I am tempted to buy a bulk load myself this autumn.

                                Well, anyone reading this thread will know now exactly how to mulch and when to mulch. :)
                                 
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