Shiva wrote:
On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 16:35:31 GMT, "kljcvlzkj" wrote:

I'm not a fan of mulch. It smells, attracts ants, and doesn't do a thing
for the weed population. Instead, I planted a bunch of lambs ears, thyme,
mint, and oregano in the rose beds. It provides enough cover to hold
moisture in and goes a long way towards keeping weeds out.

Sounds good, but what do you do about adding organic stuff to your
beds? Roses need good, whole food, just as we do. This is my main
reason for applying mulch. Retaining moisture and controlling weeds
are secondary and tertiary. I cannot imagine what you used that
"smelled" and attracted ants--pine bark smells lovely. What was it you
were thinking of, just curious?

Speaking of mulch that smells good, if you are ever in Hershey,
Pennsylvania, particularly during the late spring when the roses are in
their first flush, be sure to stop by the Hershey Rose Gardens. Among
other things, they mulch with cocoa hulls. If you like chocolate, you
will love this garden.

--
Henry

Theo Asir wrote:
Rodents are always digging under the mulch but
the neighbhorhood Siamese has taken a shine
to scaring them. I've seen him patiently stalk
voles from hole to hole. He can hear their
ground vibrations appaently.

I currently use lucerne mulch immediately around the roses and then sugar
cane mulch for the remainder of the bed. We have a blue tongue lizard that
has set up his winter home in the sugar cane mulch. If you pass by the bed
in the late afternoon, he can be seen partly out of his home sunning
himself - but retreats back if you go too close.

I currently use sugar cane for the majority of mulching because it was
available at a reasonable price from the hardware store while the lucerne
was in small packs from a pet store at a much dearer price. However I found
out recently that I may have a wholesale source for buying lucerne from my
father's neighbour who grows it. We are hoping that we can 'volunteer' our
services in sweeping out/cleaning the shed in return for keeping whatever we
can sweep up

Kirra

Theo Asir wrote:
Rodents are always digging under the mulch but
the neighbhorhood Siamese has taken a shine
to scaring them. I've seen him patiently stalk
voles from hole to hole. He can hear their
ground vibrations appaently.

I currently use lucerne mulch immediately around the roses and then sugar
cane mulch for the remainder of the bed. We have a blue tongue lizard that
has set up his winter home in the sugar cane mulch. If you pass by the bed
in the late afternoon, he can be seen partly out of his home sunning
himself - but retreats back if you go too close.

I currently use sugar cane for the majority of mulching because it was
available at a reasonable price from the hardware store while the lucerne
was in small packs from a pet store at a much dearer price. However I found
out recently that I may have a wholesale source for buying lucerne from my
father's neighbour who grows it. We are hoping that we can 'volunteer' our
services in sweeping out/cleaning the shed in return for keeping whatever we
can sweep up

Kirra

The organic material isn't really a problem. Each winter when the herbs die
back I work the debris into the soil... Also, the area where where the
garden is located was once a hill which has since been terraced. It was
covered with junipers, wood chips, and pine bark. I'm allergic to all
three, so I dug the junipers out, and burried the rest, which was about a
foot deep. It'll be a few more years before the soil will need any
additional help.

I'm also in the city, but I have the dubious benefit of a cement wall for a
back border, which means that the rodents have to enter through the
neighbors yards where the dogs are allowed to munch to there little hearts
content.

"Shiva" wrote in message
s.com...
On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 16:35:31 GMT, "kljcvlzkj"
wrote:

I'm not a fan of mulch. It smells, attracts ants, and doesn't do a thing
for the weed population. Instead, I planted a bunch of lambs ears,
thyme,
mint, and oregano in the rose beds. It provides enough cover to hold
moisture in and goes a long way towards keeping weeds out.

Sounds good, but what do you do about adding organic stuff to your
beds? Roses need good, whole food, just as we do. This is my main
reason for applying mulch. Retaining moisture and controlling weeds
are secondary and tertiary. I cannot imagine what you used that
"smelled" and attracted ants--pine bark smells lovely. What was it you
were thinking of, just curious?


As for the
voles, I don't have the problem - most of my neighbors have dogs...

Two words: leash law. I live in the city.






"Shiva" wrote in message
ws.com...

This topic usually comes up in the fall, but mulch is used for a
number of reasons outside of winter protection, so I'm thinking about
it now.

Reasons for mulching, that I know of:

To retain moisture (cut down on surface evaporation)
To enrich the soil (as it breaks down, and why I do not consider rocks
or rubber to be mulch)
To protect from cold (as in mounding canes for the winter)
To provide a barrier between extant fungus in the soil (mostly from
fallen leaves that are infected) and new growth
To make the bed more pleasing to the eye
To reduce runoff of water for those of us who still handwater.

My problems with mulch:

No matter how thick the pine bark, leaves, or straw, I still have lots
of weeds. And--it provides a perfect hiding place for voles. When it
is deep enough they apparently burrow in and access the roots from
*above* the plant. My decision to use oak leaves was one that meant I
had thicker than usual mulch, this has meant dead roses. The holes are
lined with two inches of permatil (scratchy composite "rock") but
somehow the voles still eat the roots.

What should I do next year? I cannot face doing anything this year, as
I have too much going on. What ever is left alive in the spring will
get the new treatment.

For the weeds, I like Anne's newpaper idea, and actually used it a few
years ago with good results.

For the voles, I don't know. Maybe a layer of permatil on TOP too,
just under the last layer of soil?

Here is the real point of this post:

If you mulch, what do you use and what do you like/dislike about it?

If you don't, tell me the good points. I think I already know the bad,
the worst being that bare ground is, to me, ugly. TIA

(Shiva) wrote in message ws.com...
This topic usually comes up in the fall, but mulch is used for a
number of reasons outside of winter protection, so I'm thinking about
it now.

Reasons for mulching, that I know of:

To retain moisture (cut down on surface evaporation)
To enrich the soil (as it breaks down, and why I do not consider rocks
or rubber to be mulch)
To protect from cold (as in mounding canes for the winter)
To provide a barrier between extant fungus in the soil (mostly from
fallen leaves that are infected) and new growth
To make the bed more pleasing to the eye
To reduce runoff of water for those of us who still handwater.

My problems with mulch:

No matter how thick the pine bark, leaves, or straw, I still have lots
of weeds. And--it provides a perfect hiding place for voles. When it
is deep enough they apparently burrow in and access the roots from
*above* the plant. My decision to use oak leaves was one that meant I
had thicker than usual mulch, this has meant dead roses. The holes are
lined with two inches of permatil (scratchy composite "rock") but
somehow the voles still eat the roots.

I use two inches of rubber mulch on top of a layer of the fiber
landscape fabric from Lowes in a raised bed. (Here's a pictu
http://eberwein.dyndns.org/roses/RoseBed.JPG) This is my first year
growing roses at my house and so far, I haven't seen a single weed or
borrowing animal. I think the 2 foot height is to much for them to
dig up through to get to the roots. My animal problem is that
something is eating the tops of my plants before they open.

The biggest problem is getting the fertilizer to the root system.
I've been spreading it on top of the mulch and letting my misting
watering system break it down and carry it to the roots. It seems to
be working fine for me.

For reference sake, I'm in Clayton, NC which is south of Raleigh, NC.

In article , Kevin
Eberwein wrote:

(Shiva) wrote in message
ws.com...
This topic usually comes up in the fall, but mulch is used for a
number of reasons outside of winter protection, so I'm thinking about
it now.

Reasons for mulching, that I know of:

To retain moisture (cut down on surface evaporation)
To enrich the soil (as it breaks down, and why I do not consider rocks
or rubber to be mulch)
To protect from cold (as in mounding canes for the winter)
To provide a barrier between extant fungus in the soil (mostly from
fallen leaves that are infected) and new growth
To make the bed more pleasing to the eye
To reduce runoff of water for those of us who still handwater.

My problems with mulch:

No matter how thick the pine bark, leaves, or straw, I still have lots
of weeds. And--it provides a perfect hiding place for voles. When it
is deep enough they apparently burrow in and access the roots from
*above* the plant. My decision to use oak leaves was one that meant I
had thicker than usual mulch, this has meant dead roses. The holes are
lined with two inches of permatil (scratchy composite "rock") but
somehow the voles still eat the roots.

I use two inches of rubber mulch on top of a layer of the fiber
landscape fabric from Lowes in a raised bed. (Here's a pictu
http://eberwein.dyndns.org/roses/RoseBed.JPG) This is my first year
growing roses at my house and so far, I haven't seen a single weed or
borrowing animal. I think the 2 foot height is to much for them to
dig up through to get to the roots. My animal problem is that
something is eating the tops of my plants before they open.

Wabbits?

The biggest problem is getting the fertilizer to the root system.
I've been spreading it on top of the mulch and letting my misting
watering system break it down and carry it to the roots. It seems to
be working fine for me.

For reference sake, I'm in Clayton, NC which is south of Raleigh, NC.

Wow, Kevin, very tidy looking. On a cool day, you might try doing a
foliar feed with some organics. Roses seem to enjoy the lower nitrogen
concoctions just as much as the other. Mix fish emulsion half strength
in a garbage can and pour it over the tops of the plants with a bucket.
You can double your effect by adding a kelp concoction as the same time
- also half strenght. That way you both root and foliar feed.