Planting Under Trees - Part 1
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- dayan
- Marge_Talt
- dayan
- Marge_Talt
- dayan
- Marge_Talt
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» dayan - Hi ya, we have to stop meeting like this! (OK, it's really that
Hi ya, we have to stop meeting like this! (OK, it's really that I'm tailing you : )As usual, you are heading right up my alley with this topic. Yesterday, as I was back filling behind the first wall, I was debating what to do around that little birch tree (15-20 feet high). I wasn't sure what to do because it is surrounded by boulders and I am sure there are a couple under it, so I didn't want to deprive the poor thing of any soil. I thought of the newspaper route to build up the soil (away from the trunk) but I am wondering what would happen if I used a thicker layer of the paper/mulch (straw), let it sit 'till late fall, and planted bulbs? I was under the impression that it would kill the feeder roots and mine have been through enough as it is.
What do you think about say, twice the amount of newspaper?
Karyn
-- posted by dayan
» Marge_Talt - Hi...you're right, what <b>will</b> the neighbors think?! :-)
Hi...you're right, what will the neighbors think?! :-)Well, birch has a flat root system, so I think you'd need to be fairly careful how much you put on top of the root area. I don't see the advantage of a thicker layer of newspaper.
I think what I'd do is use a layer of woodchips about 6" thick at most - they are very porous and will let both air and water in. Think I might skip the newspaper, too - it does make a barrier of sorts and takes some time to completely disintegrate. If you go the woodchip route, in a few years there will be a lovely layer of dark humus there.
Straw will also decay, but it takes more than a summer for it to happen and it does tend to be full of seeds and sprout. If you can get woodchips or bagged mulch, I'd use that instead.
You'd probably need to actually dig the bulbs into the underlying soil; not just into a layer of organic material , but the organic material would count as soil above the bulbs (if it's mulch or woodchips), so you wouldn't need to dig into the actual soil a full six inches or so. And, if you use some of the minor bulbs, they don't have to be planted deeply at all and would naturalize there for you. They say 4 inches, but I've just poked them in an inch or two and they do fine. I'm a geat fan of the minor bulbs!
Marge
Gardening in
Shade
-- posted by Marge_Talt
» dayan - I don't know about your neighbours, but mine would wonder why yo
I don't know about your neighbours, but mine would wonder why you were consorting with such a garden--I use the term loosely.I am harping on the newspaper and straw because I have both, and they are almost free. The straw is from the composter and as it rots, I incorporate it into the compost as brown material which I have very little access to (in terms of fallen leaves). I also have loads of newspaper as I have to read a lot to stay au courant in my field. I keep checking into office sales hoping to find an industrial shredder for the newspaper.
On my way home last night, I saw a sign for free horse manure; I am going to check this out in a big way. Since this season is getting beyond me, I am trying to get the soil in as good a shape as possible for next year.
Would it be productive to use some combination of the above manure/straw/newspaper for the top layer behind the walls? I have finished backfilling (up to two feet) behind the section of wall in the critical area.
Karyn
-- posted by dayan
» Marge_Talt - Ah! Free is always good. The horse manure sounds grand - get a
Ah! Free is always good. The horse manure sounds grand - get all you can lay your hands on.A combination of manure and straw with some shredded newspaper (so it rots quickly) would be great if you plan to just let it set until next year. Be aware that it will rot down and sink, maybe as much as 6" in a year, and you will need to top up the area to plant it - but plants will love the rich soil created.
Marge
Gardening in
Shade
-- posted by Marge_Talt
» Marge_Talt - I'd be inclined to do some layering to encourage the straw and n
I'd be inclined to do some layering to encourage the straw and newspaper to rot. No reason not to put manure on top. When you get ready to plant, you'll need to dig it all over anyway. Only negative I can think of is that any weed seeds in the manure (and it's likely to have a number) will germinate for you if its the top layer.I'd be inclined to put in a layer of say newspaper; some manure; some straw; some manure; some newspaper; some manure, and just keep repeating the layers until I filled up the trench.. And, to speed up things, I'd water as I layer. You need to water the straw and newspaper for sure or they just sit there and don't rot down and even a good rain won't wet them thoroughly.
It also wouldn't hurt to throw in a light layer of soil periodically - just a dusting, really, but that helps because the soil contains all kinds of microbes and stuff.
You're basically doing some sheet composting or trench composting here, so you can also throw in any weeds or veggie scraps or what have you. If you keep it moist and with all that nice fresh manure, it should rot down nicely by the end of the summer and for sure by next spring when you want to plant stuff. You don't want this sodden, but moist, like a wrung out sponge. The microbes that digest the materials in compost have to have a film of water on the particles to move around and do their stuff, but if you get it too soggy, it mats down and turns anaerobic which smells to high heaven.
Marge
Gardening in
Shade
-- posted by Marge_Talt
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