Kay Easton wrote in message ...
In article , Mike Lyle
writes

Nick is very confident about this; but I'd rather be cautious when
suggesting what to do in somebody else's garden. Leaving a few twigs
about just isn't the same issue as spreading a layer of undecayed wood
chips over your flower-beds. Even if there's no real danger from
fungi, the slugs will probably love it.

How does the spreading of chips from your own tree differ from a
similarly thick and extensive bark chip mulch? Or would you avoid that
too?

Bargepole, absolute bargepole! Friable stuff only as far as I'm
concerned. And I also mentioned the aesthetic aspect: at least the
semi-composted bark they flog looks nice if you like that kind of
thing (which I don't, really). Raw woodchips, like when the Council
have just done some trees beside the dual carriageway, look like raw
woodchips. And birds will probably scratch it onto the paths and the
lawn in search of the invertebrates sheltering in it.

You've also raised another interesting point, that in effect anything
one says in urg can be considered as suggesting what to do in someone
else's garden. One could take the safe view, of not suggesting anything
with the slightest risk .. or of suggesting only standard practice as
expounded in reputable text books (or perhaps as expounded by the RHS) -
I'm not sure what would be regarded as 'standard practice'.

Well, we *were* making suggestions about somebody else's garden: he
asked us to. I was not only being careful, but saying why; and there's
been enough contrary opinion too. I don't mind suggesting, e.g.,
sowing Chinese cabbage seeds a month late, but it'd be very wrong if I
didn't point out that it might result in failure. People presumably
ask these questions because they don't know, and it isn't in their
books, or they just want to kick the ideas about a bit and see what
other gardeners reckon. If what I reckon agrees with the conventional
wisdom, surely you don't think that means I shouldn't bother saying
it? How do I know an enquirer *knows* the conventional wisdom?

[...]
Surely people want from urg something they can't get from
other sources? Or am I wrong on this?

Of course you're not wrong! (Well, mostly: some questions are straight
book stuff.) What we get here, thank God, is discussion. Like this.
But almost every thread, including this one, shows that we don't
always read urg too carefully.

I've always regarded urg as a joint learning experience - we all of us
add our own experience, sometimes challenging the accepted approach, and
as a result we all learn something new, that perhaps can't be found from
other sources. Urg gives something that can't be found elsewhere.

Certainly does.
[...]

In the garden we encourage conditions which many pests and diseases
thrive in: lush growth, same species crowded together, high nutrient
levels, that kind of thing.

Ah - your garden differs from mine (1)! Mine has the lush growth, in the
sense that every inch of soil is covered, but I don't have lots of the
same species crowded together and I don't try to push up the nutrient
levels. And I have several species of very beautiful fungi which add
interest at this time of year.

(1) I see from the rest of your post (snipped) that your garden is more
akin to mine .. ie neither is the borders-full-of-bright-bedding-plant
style.

Well, there you go: see what I meant above? Not as bad as when I said
best not to use poison on the tree-stump, but if he had to, then he
could safely do xxx; I immediately got jumped on by somebody saying in
effect "You prat! He said he was worried about poison!" Well, der...

Onwards and upwards, as that irritating man says on that programme I
can't bear,
Mike.