Late January in Western Australia - in the Year 2000

I wrote this heading because late January this year is certainly different from any other January on record. In the main because the rainfall to January 23 has been 137.4 mm (5.5 inches), instead of an average of 9.0 mm (0.36 inches). Certainly a help to a very dry part of the world, but not much help to the farmers in the south west of the state who have suffered a lot of flood damage. I hope the extra rain helps the level of the storage dams later in the year. Anyway, as this is now the time of the year when we are told to conserve water, I am sure many people will be turning the water off, not for the reason of saving water, but because the watering system is not needed. Still, the rain did bring to mind the matter of mulching, and the matter of not being skimpy with it when applying. I always recommend a layer of about 40-50 mm (about 5 inches), more for trees or big shrubs. Mulch acts like an insulator, keeping moisture in and the sun out. You can tell the worth of mulching on a hot day if you put your finger in the garden, through the mulch, and you should find a moist soil underneath, that is how the roots like it to be. Mulching is a specific way of adding organic material to the soil where the material is spread as a layer over the surface of the soil. Other benefits from mulch are: it covers the soil and suppresses weed growth so only a few of these unpleasant garden plants appear; it is made from organic matter and does improve the soil as it slowly breaks down. The latter means the mulch needs a top up from time to time. A good application at the beginning of summer should last for a few months. Obviously the best mulches are those consisting of loose materials that will allow the irrigation water and the rain to penetrate the soil and let the air have access to the roots. I use materials such as leaf mould, pine bark, garden compost, sawdust, clippings from the lawn. I sometimes purchase a load of mulch from the local tree doctor. In that case it is as well to mix some animal compost with the mulch and allow the mixture to stand for a month or two. I believe it is a good idea to keep mulch away from tree trunks to avoid the risk of rotting.

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