Healthy, good quality soil is the root of all garden and allotment goodness, so get yours shipshape now.
ADDING ORGANIC MATTER.
Organic matter is a blanket term for a number of natural soil improvers or fertilisers of varying nutrient levels. Soil on its own can lack sufficient texture and nutrient content, so to grow beautiful, thriving plants successfully we need to help it along by improving it with different materials, according to what’s needed. Here arefourkey ingredients, plus where, why and when to apply them.
LEAF MOULD
Leaf mould is as simple as collecting moist fallen leaves now, in black plastic bags, poking holes in the bags and leaving them out of sight for a year or so. Thin flimsy leaves break down quicker than thick leaves, so the latter may be better off decomposing quicker on the compost heap. Leaf mould is an excellent pH neutral soil conditioner and improves soil structure – conifer needles even produce acidic leaf mould, perfect for acid lovers such as blueberries, camellias and azaleas.
You can use two-year-old leaf mould as cuttings and seed sowing compost, while younger leaf mould is a great mulch – its content is not to harsh, to rich, or too full of nutrients. You can use bags of the stuff dug in everywhere and on the compost heap to enhance soil health, break it up and please the worms.
GARDEN COMPOST
Environmentally friendly, easy to do, saves waste and gives you rich, crumbly, nutritious soil improver for free. Use it all over the garden to improve soil texture and fertility, but do not sow seeds into it. Use it in the autumn or spring.
You can start a heap at any time, mixing garden prunings, plant material, raw kitchen waste and paper – but not meat. A balance of materials ensures good decomposition and good quality material. Sprinklings of chicken pellets can accelerate decomposition. Try to avoid using any woody material, pernicious weeds and diseased pruning’s e.g. blight contaminated or black spot etc.
Council compost is made in bulk and is hotter at its core, so can be less weedy or potentially diseased than you own compost. Saying that, you know that your compost is all-organic and has not had a weed killer or other insecticides in it.
CHICKEN MANURE
Dried, pelleted poultry manure is an approved organic fertiliser, rich in nitrogen. It is not as quick or potent as synthetic fertilisers but is chemical free, relatively cheap and environmentally friendly. It is fantastic for use on the allotment, but its alkaline means it is unsuitable for ericaceous (acid-loving) plants such as blueberries, camellias or heathers. Apply it to your compost or allotment early spring and late autumn. Ensure any fresh poultry manure is composted first.
HORSE MANURE
Fresh farmyard manure is too abrasive to heap around plants straight away, so be sure to rot it first before applying – or you can add it to bare beds now and wait until spring to plant up. Otherwise, of course, there is well-rotted manure like country natural, available from the trading hut. This is one of the best, rich, improvers to choose for your allotment or garden. It is a fantastic mulch, structure improver, adds vital nutrients and aids moisture retention. Roses in particular, love it, however, root vegetables or onions do not need it. If you add manure now it may leach away over autumn and winter so early spring may be better.
In the trading hut, we sell chicken pellets and bags of good quality compost.
Dennis Flaherty
allotments@growchiswick.org.