weeds/self seeders/mulch

18 years ago

Hi,

I live in SA and would love a lush informal looking garden with plants self seeding and lot of pretty flowers amongst the perennials and natives. I have mulched the whole garden to keep down weeds and moisture in in this very dry climate. I used a bark mulch as on gardening Australia Malcolm Campbell said in SA we need non porous free draining mulches so that what little rain we have isnÂ¡Â¦t absorbed by the mulch and goes straight through to the plants. Trouble is the mulch suppresses self seeding as well as weeds ÂÂ¼ when this bark has broken down would there be a better mulch I could use?

Shelley

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

wombat
18 years ago
I used to have a self seeding garden - but the drought has put paid to that. Not even the weeds are sprouting!!

Normally, I mulch with leaves (not natives because they don't tend to break down very well) and grass clippings (spread out and kept away from the trunks/stems). The council kindly supplies bags for leaf collections in autumn and I get a lot of leaves this way - I always ask first.

Any soft prunings/spent annuals/etc are run over with the lawn mower (although I have heard that some people have mulching machines for this purpose) and that also goes on as mulch.

I rake up the debris from under my pine trees and use to mulch around camellias.

I had a lot of small animal life leaving under the mulch which I believe adds to soil fertility (but they seemed to have died of thirst). Any leaves which do pop up are easily removed.

I might be a bit cynical but I think that the idea of pine bark mulch was thought up by some whizz kid in the timber industry who didn't know anything about gardening. Think about it - not even pine seeds sprout in it.

I also use the fine stuff from the bottom of the wood heap - and several kurrajongs and one peppercorn tree have sprouted. They are currently living in pots waiting for "better days" to move to a rural home.
shelleyvw
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks wombat for your suggestion. I would agree that pine bark mulch is unnatural. It is what we used before I got bitten by the gardening bug. The last mulch I put on wasn't pine bark though I think it was gum mulch but I will be choosing something different from now on. It hasnt stopped weeds coming through nor the Californian Poppies which I quite like. But I certainly am looking for a finer mulch. Have you any suggestions for commercially sold mulches as my garden beds are too big for me to produce enough mulch at home. I do have a mulching machine but it takes a lot of clipping to produce only an small amount. And like you we have a drought here and need all the mulch we can get.

Shelley
Related Discussions
What's Your Favorite Self-Seeder?
Q
Comments (20)
Thanks to all who responded! I have compiled everyone's suggestions into this list. Nasturtiums amaranthus polish purple cosmos calendula nicotiana rudbeckia sweet annie dill Sweet alyssum verbena bonariensis cornflowers anthemis tinctoria coreopsis canterbury bells evening primrose alchemilla mollis Starburst Zinnia Celosia Cleome Four oÂclocks Tithonia Sunflowers Ricinus Atriplex hortensis 'Rubra' Nigella morning glories Emilia bachelors buttons Snapdragons Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina' Portulaca Sweet Alyssum Garden balsam Bells of Ireland (which come up EVERYWHERE!) Salvia 'Forest Fire' Salvia coccinea Salvia splendens Snapdragons Larkspur Melampodium Balsam Feverfew Gomphrena Hyssop-Korean Perilla Persicara 'Painter's Palette' Salvia 'Victoria Blue' Cosmos sulphurum Zinnias 'cut and come again' Johnny Jump Up Dahlberg Daisy African Daisy California poppies
...See More
Using fresh weeds as mulch
Q
Comments (9)
That's the thing - they're robbing the crops we sowed, and this is the quickest way to turn them into food for those crops (blending and pouring would act more quickly). But I do have horror-movie-like memories of lifting piles of weeds to find swarms of earwigs and slugs...Maybe the trick is to keep the layers thin? I ripped out masses of chicory yesterday and laid them around raspberries and strawberries, and today they are looking paper thin already. Beautiful chicory - too bad we don't run a chicory farm. The chickens got their feed as well - they like bitter greens. Btw the seed packets that said Lettuce but turned out to be chicory were given to us by visitors to this interesting place. Other seed packets were what they said they were. Here is a link that might be useful: ballenberg
...See More
Self-seeders dilemma
Q
Comments (18)
Okay, I dug out the package-I save the packages of seed that I have used up in a big envelope so I can remember names-and the ones I planted at the other house that would get a few seedlings each year were Ruegen. I had fewer plants there due to space, and so they were more heavily grazed (by me) so that may explain the fewer seedlings. I did move them from the flower garden where I had them, but mostly because I wanted to put another low growing plant there, and the soil was pretty much depleted and they seemed to yellow in the alkaline soil. I put something there that I replaced a lot, so I worked with the soil more then. They seemed to stay where they were and didn't really get too much bigger than a foot or two across. The ones I planted here I looked and they do have a name on their package-Summer Sweetness. They had a lot better germination than the Ruegen and maybe more vigor, but the soil is different here. Also it is a different seed purveyor, so that might make a difference, and I might just be a better seed starter now than I was. I just have more plants here, about twelve at first, and I have the Jewells, so I don't snack as much, so maybe that is it. I just had about forty+ plants pop up all around, and if they each get to be about two feet across then that will be too much room devoted to alpines for me, so I've been pulling them out. I do let them reseed around where they are planted, so if they spread there that is okay. I just don't want them in the vegetable beds or in the xeriscape beds or the perennials. I just planned for them to be ground cover between a couple of plum trees maybe about like you are thinking. Just give them the foot or two that they seem to want and get your dh to pick them to make jam and I think you'll continue to be happy with them.
...See More
Groundcovers for self weeding gardens.
Q
Comments (11)
I'd like to see a moss that keeps weeds out - I spend a lot of time weeding mossy areas, and I can tell you from experience that it's much more difficult than weeding a mulched area. I have some violets, but they travel a lot more than I'd like; I really don't like them in the lawn, which is already full of dandelions, and I think a plant that spreads that widely is more of a pest than it's worth. Vinca definitely does not keep out grass - or maple seedlings. Furthermore, it climbs up shrubs, which looks really messy. I'm an informal gardener, and tend to let things grow "naturally" and have found vinca in mixed beds (i.e. shrubs, trees, and perennials) is a mistake, at least for my style of gardening. Maybe someone who LIKES to weed and trim would enjoy it more... the flowers are nice, the foliage is pretty, but I'll take European ginger or hellebores, any day of the week instead. Groundcovers are good. They're not a panacea, though, and we should be honest about their shortcomings. Too many magazines gloss over the problems and make promises that are simply not realistic - maybe we're so used to seeing that kind of "plant promotion" in print that we tend to do it ourselves; let's not.
...See More
Sparaxis
18 years ago
The reason pine bark mulch is not recomended for most gardens is that it is fairly acidic. Hence it is good around your camellias, and also in a fernery. I would think that, in a strongly alkaline soil, it would make a good additive to compost, even if not desired as a mulch. I grow all my pacific coast irises under the neighbors overhanging pine trees. I allow a reasonable amount of pine needle mulch to stay on the beds. They irises thrive there, but their native habitat is pine forest in california.
BTW - sorrel grows very well in pine bark mulch!
shelleyvw
Original Author
18 years ago
Hi Sparaxis,

My garden is on limestone so you are right I dont think a little acidic matter will harm it :-) I have no trouble getting plants I have planted to survive in. They aren't growing very fast but I think this is more to do with where I live and lack of rainfall. Thanks.

Shelley

weeds/self seeders/mulch

Comments (4)

wombat

shelleyvw
Original Author

Related Discussions

Sparaxis

shelleyvw
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

weeds/self seeders/mulch

Comments (4)

wombat

shelleyvwOriginal Author

Related Discussions

Sparaxis

shelleyvwOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

shelleyvw
Original Author

shelleyvw
Original Author