If you've placed a thick layer of bark mulch over your flower beds,
how do you go about amending the soil with compost come Springtime?
Do you scrape aside the mulch, work the soil, then return the mulch?
Or do you work the mulch into the soil itself, then apply a fresh
layer?

If you've placed a thick layer of bark mulch over your flower beds,
how do you go about amending the soil with compost come Springtime?

I don't use bark mulch. I use about 3" of partially decomposed compost (leaves
and grass) as mulch. The worms pull it gradually into the soil. As the mulch
layer thins, I replace it from the compost pile.

Do you scrape aside the mulch, work the soil, then return the mulch?

If I used bark mulch, that is what I would do.

Or do you work the mulch into the soil itself, then apply a fresh
layer?

The bark mulch is high in carbon, but nitrogen-poor. As soil bacteria decompose
the bark mulch, they will use whatever nitrogen is available, depleting the
soil of nitrogen for the plants. Therefore, if you work mulch pellets into the
soil, you should provide a nitrogen source, such as blood or fish fertilizer,
or fresh grass clippings.

Wendy
Wilmington, DE (Zone 7)

If you've applied a thick layer of bark mulch over the beds, rake it to the
side and add a good layer of compost the bed. You don't have to mix it in;
it will naturally break down and feed the soil below and act as a mulch too.
You can either discard the old mulch or put it back on the bed.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"Fleemo" wrote in message
om...
If you've placed a thick layer of bark mulch over your flower beds,
how do you go about amending the soil with compost come Springtime?
Do you scrape aside the mulch, work the soil, then return the mulch?
Or do you work the mulch into the soil itself, then apply a fresh
layer?

(Fleemo) wrote in message . com...
If you've placed a thick layer of bark mulch over your flower beds,
how do you go about amending the soil with compost come Springtime?
Do you scrape aside the mulch, work the soil, then return the mulch?
Or do you work the mulch into the soil itself, then apply a fresh
layer?

If you have sandy soil, it does not matter. If you have clay soil,
then you ought to consider mulching with leaves, so that the worms can
work the soil for you. There are a lot less worms under woodchips than
under leaves. Just the same, they help and you should find better soil
under that bark. I would just topdress. I don't think it is a great
idea to work wood products into a bed.

So it's not necessary to work the compost into the soil? Top dressing
the beds will be just as effective?

In article ,
(Fleemo) wrote:

So it's not necessary to work the compost into the soil? Top dressing
the beds will be just as effective?

I wish I'd saved the article because even I find it hard to believe
sometimes, but I read a report from a university horticultural department
that ran tests in their experimental gardens on seasonal topcoating as
sole method of sustaining & enriching soils, comparing the results to
soils that are enriched by upturning composts or plowing nutrients deeper
into the ground. Turned out nature's own method of enriching topsoils
functions equally as well as working the soil deeply with a shovel or
plow. I still have to suppose that soils compacted over time & other
conditions would require a deep reworking of the ground, but in general
gardens self-mulching from leaf fall, or given composts as topcoatings
only, will in the main sustain their own good soil forever.

Some natural processes in a woodland setting, however, such as those which
occur around deadfall & stumps, or somewhat transient, & encourage types
of plants that need an extremely high percentage of beneficial fungus. As
the dead wood breaks down entirely, the fungus levels thereafter lower
dramatically, & this means the types of plants that long grew happily in a
given location can no longer do well in their established spots. Deciduous
huckleberries for example thrive on & around stumps for instance, but when
the stump is completely reclaimed by the soil, the soil is no less sound,
but no longer of a type to sustain the huckleberries. Same with
burn-through -- the first plants to recover from a burn & become dominant
will like the heightened alkalinity from ash, will grow rapidly, & be
comparatively small things; they will be displaced by shrubs which will
dominate when the ash-caused alkalinity is rinsed by rains & the soil is
again acidic; & the shrubs in turn will loose their dominance when new
trees mature, or completely different shrubs that prefer shade displace
the shrubs that were there when more sun was available. To me this
suggests that nature alone will not sustain human-constructed gardens
because none are so fully natural as to be self-caring indefinitely.
Nature takes advantage of ever-shifting conditions permitting some things
to die out & other things to take over, in both short-term & long-term
cycles. So to sustain the example of the huckleberries in a garden,
decaying wood & the fungus it encourages would have to be worked into the
ground every few years, since even if topcoating kept the soil rich, it
might not remain the precise type of good soil conducive to the given
plant.

Still, overall, it was both a revelation & a relief to see that on
average, soils can be sustained by topcoatings & mulches alone, which is
good to know since so much of my gardens are woody shrubs & permanent
sorts of things that can never be plowed through as a method of
revitalizing soils.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

Fleemo wrote:

If you've placed a thick layer of bark mulch over your flower beds,
how do you go about amending the soil with compost come Springtime?
Do you scrape aside the mulch, work the soil, then return the mulch?
Or do you work the mulch into the soil itself, then apply a fresh
layer?

Topdress. Don't bother turning or scraping. It's work, and it
disturbs established soil structure.

As others suggest, topdressings should be chosen to attract earthworms.

Top dressing is an alternative. If you have the opportunity, dig the
compost into the bed. If the bed is already established, top dressing will
help feed and condition the soil - but it takes a little longer.

"Fleemo" wrote in message
om...
So it's not necessary to work the compost into the soil? Top dressing
the beds will be just as effective?

On 6 Feb 2003 11:15:55 -0800, (Fleemo) wrote:

So it's not necessary to work the compost into the soil? Top dressing
the beds will be just as effective?

Oh yes, for sure. Water will bring it down, as will worms.

Thank you all for your input.

-Fleemo