![]() ![]() Ii) This study as well as other sources state - PH changes very little after applying Other sources – In all but the sandiest soil the PH is strongly buffered meaning I) According to Oregon State Extension Services and Horticulture magazine and The truth of the matter (organic mulch matter)Ī) Oak leaves and mulch will lower the PH and make the soil too acidic.The soil and about one inch into the soil. Lot less time is involved than mentioned in the study.ĭ) Seeds of most grasses, weeds and plants will not germinate where oak mulch meets To rid it of the various seeds that if left in the hay or straw will lead to a markedĬ) Cornell University study reports that the time required to remove weeds in a Be careful – as I will mention later - some straws and hay must be aged Later- after attending a class put on by a local garden - WillowĪ) More time can be and is spent on trying to control weeds than any other homeī) Mulching with oak and other like mulches decreases the likelihood of weed seeds I started using that soil once it broke down and To have better soil than the plot itself. Mulched material increases the variety of microbes increasing the variety of plantsī) Organic mulches condition the soil and furnish food for earthworms, which areĬ) Organic Gardening cited a Washington State University study that found sand turnedĭ) Our own experiments here at Temple Terrace Community Garden has proven this toīe true. b) The Oregon State University Extension Svc Master Gardener program states moisture moves by capillary action to the surface and evaporates, if mulch does not cover the soil.Ī) Mulch breaks down into organic soil, rich with a variety of microbes. This prevents the sun from wreaking havoc on tender vegetation by lowering soil temps.ī) Protects the plant root system in the winter.Ī) The same study found the soil moisture content in mulched plots were two times as high. The Cornell University study reports that mulched plot’s summer soil temperatures were reduced by 8 to 13 degrees. This aids in the decomposition process of organic material.Ĭ) Worms further work their magic reducing material and aggregate it even further.Ī. This process increases soil’s air spaces and moisture holding capacity which are necessary to sustain microbial life of fungi and bacteria. The soil particles are able to group together or aggregate more. (OSU Ext Svcs)ī) Water droplets from rain or irrigation on a mulched surface can’t directly hit the soil. This uniformity and other organic processes as a result of mulching, creates a less stressful environment for the plant, allowing it to be more productive.Ī) The organic matter helps to keep the soil crumbly and easy to work. Insures a bumper crop - high yield productionĪ) Mother Earth’s website states vegetable yields are 50% more productiveī) Creates more uniform moisture for the plant roots.This information is intended to be just FOOD FOR THOUGHT. There are a lot of misconceptions and myths that create controversy. Written and compiled by: James Vargas Using locally produced wood chips and leaves are a sustainable activity, keeping a useful product out of the landfill, which is both environmentally and economically beneficial. Living in Florida my garden has never rested for six years. Therefore, if you add chopped leaves directly to your soil, the activity of those organisms will increase, and remove more nitrogen from the soil in which your plants are growing, leaving less available nitrogen for plants to take up.Īfter extensive research and six years of using the oak mulch and leaves on top of the soil here is what the universities, extension services and forest guru's say. The reason you wouldn't normally allow leaves to degrade slowly on the ground in your garden, or dig in shredded or whole leaves, is because the fungi and bacteria which break down the leaves require nitrogen to function. In the UK, that would be Growmore or other granular nitrogenous, but balanced, feed. This can then be added to your soil with, if applied in spring, a handful or two of nitrogen in some form or other. Leaves should be wet, crammed in a binliner, the tops tied shut, holes poked in the bottom, then left in a corner somewhere to rot down over a year or so, by which time they will have shrunken right down to something commonly known as 'black gold'. What's done is done, but in future years, as others suggest, collect up the leaves and compost them separately, either in a contained heap or in binliner bags with holes in the bottom. ![]()
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