Happy new year everyone.

I have 5 meters of garden mulch ( Pine chips ) to put on a new garden bed tomorrow, i have heard that the Mulch will suck some of the goodness out of the ground and that i should spread some fertiliser under it…..is this correct and if it is would blood and bone be good enough or should i use something else.
Keep in mind the new plants are Seaside Daisies, Break of Day Daisies, Roses, Dietes and Natives.

Rook

the theory is that as the mulch decomposes it will use up nitrogen. As it would be a relatively slow decomposing mulch it possibly won’t have much impact as long as it is aged. You could chuck around some blood & bone before laying down the mulch if you wish, or not and see if the plants start showing signs of nitrogen deficiency and give them some then.

Rook said:

Happy new year everyone.

I have 5 meters of garden mulch ( Pine chips ) to put on a new garden bed tomorrow, i have heard that the Mulch will suck some of the goodness out of the ground and that i should spread some fertiliser under it…..is this correct and if it is would blood and bone be good enough or should i use something else.
Keep in mind the new plants are Seaside Daisies, Break of Day Daisies, Roses, Dietes and Natives.

Rook

Pine chips do rob nutrient from the soil in order to break down. i usually use pelletised chook poo however.. it has been proven not only by myself that if you want to rot down sawdust or wood chips that fresh horse manure is the best.

I would use blood and bone very sparingly as it can be quite potent. In fact it is probably twenty years since I last used blood and bone at all.

from my experience with natives a liberal sprinkle of dynamic lifter works wonders.

… however a lot depends on your soil type and Ph.

bluegreen said:

the theory is that as the mulch decomposes it will use up nitrogen. As it would be a relatively slow decomposing mulch it possibly won’t have much impact as long as it is aged. You could chuck around some blood & bone before laying down the mulch if you wish, or not and see if the plants start showing signs of nitrogen deficiency and give them some then.

Define garden bed…

If it is just shrubs, etc, just chuck the pine bark on is what I would do…

Dinetta said:

bluegreen said:

the theory is that as the mulch decomposes it will use up nitrogen. As it would be a relatively slow decomposing mulch it possibly won’t have much impact as long as it is aged. You could chuck around some blood & bone before laying down the mulch if you wish, or not and see if the plants start showing signs of nitrogen deficiency and give them some then.

Define garden bed…

If it is just shrubs, etc, just chuck the pine bark on is what I would do…

The new plants are Seaside Daisies, Break of Day Daisies, Roses, Dietes and Natives.

Rook

Dinetta said:

bluegreen said:

the theory is that as the mulch decomposes it will use up nitrogen. As it would be a relatively slow decomposing mulch it possibly won’t have much impact as long as it is aged. You could chuck around some blood & bone before laying down the mulch if you wish, or not and see if the plants start showing signs of nitrogen deficiency and give them some then.

Define garden bed…

If it is just shrubs, etc, just chuck the pine bark on is what I would do…

Again it depends on your soil.. If it is a high Ph then there will most certainly be a nutrient lock up and chlorosis will likely increase. An acidic soil will be less so.

The new plants are Seaside Daisies, Break of Day Daisies, Roses, Dietes and Natives.

Rook
+++

ummm I am out of my league with those…I know roses have different requirements to natives and that’s about it…

Dinetta said:

The new plants are Seaside Daisies, Break of Day Daisies, Roses, Dietes and Natives.

Rook
+++

ummm I am out of my league with those…I know roses have different requirements to natives and that’s about it…

Define natives..

Roses get along OK with natives in general.

although why mix them?

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

bluegreen said:

the theory is that as the mulch decomposes it will use up nitrogen. As it would be a relatively slow decomposing mulch it possibly won’t have much impact as long as it is aged. You could chuck around some blood & bone before laying down the mulch if you wish, or not and see if the plants start showing signs of nitrogen deficiency and give them some then.

Define garden bed…

If it is just shrubs, etc, just chuck the pine bark on is what I would do…

Again it depends on your soil.. If it is a high Ph then there will most certainly be a nutrient lock up and chlorosis will likely increase. An acidic soil will be less so.

I’ll check the pH tomorrow, i did spread 4 meters of compost, which when delivered from the Garden supplier was still warm The natives that have been in it for a month have really taken off . I put between 3 – 4 inches on top of a typical central vic country soil ( clayish ) and also mixed it into the potting hole.

Rook

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

The new plants are Seaside Daisies, Break of Day Daisies, Roses, Dietes and Natives.

Rook
+++

ummm I am out of my league with those…I know roses have different requirements to natives and that’s about it…

Define natives..

Roses get along OK with natives in general.

although why mix them?

I had dreams (at a different house, different soil) of Geraldton Wax and roses in the same bed, but the nursery lady said the Geraldton Wax would not cope…

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

The new plants are Seaside Daisies, Break of Day Daisies, Roses, Dietes and Natives.

Rook
+++

ummm I am out of my league with those…I know roses have different requirements to natives and that’s about it…

Define natives..

Roses get along OK with natives in general.

although why mix them?

I had dreams (at a different house, different soil) of Geraldton Wax and roses in the same bed, but the nursery lady said the Geraldton Wax would not cope…

My mother had a great Geraldton Wax at her front door alnog with roses.. what killed her earlier attempts at Geraldton Wax was digging around them to get weeds, not companionship with roses.. but again my bother never over watered her roses..

roses can be pretty tough, but it depends on how well you want them to perform. They can survive long periods of neglect and still flower, but if you give them the ideal conditions then they can really put on a show. I suspect that roses will survive in conditions that suit natives (depending on the native of course and they have varying requirements) but many natives would not cope with conditions that are ideally suited to roses.

I don’t “do” roses any more…am concentrating on vegetables, fruit trees and “room” plants (plants that create a “room” in the garden – however vaguely that may be) these days…

Would like more local natives in my house yard…I think yellowwood are fantastic trees…then there’s warrigal bush…and ever since I found out about its relationship with a white butterfly, wait-a-while…

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

The new plants are Seaside Daisies, Break of Day Daisies, Roses, Dietes and Natives.

Rook
+++

ummm I am out of my league with those…I know roses have different requirements to natives and that’s about it…

Define natives..

Roses get along OK with natives in general.

although why mix them?

Calistermons and gums

The roses are in an off shoot of the new garden bed, image a letter t on the ground, all the natives are along the long side and 4 roses, a lemon and lime tree are in the small part of the t along with the daisies.

I’ll post some pictures on monday for some constructive critisism

Rook

Rook

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

The new plants are Seaside Daisies, Break of Day Daisies, Roses, Dietes and Natives.

Rook
+++

ummm I am out of my league with those…I know roses have different requirements to natives and that’s about it…

Define natives..

Roses get along OK with natives in general.

although why mix them?

I had dreams (at a different house, different soil) of Geraldton Wax and roses in the same bed, but the nursery lady said the Geraldton Wax would not cope…

My mother had a great Geraldton Wax at her front door alnog with roses.. what killed her earlier attempts at Geraldton Wax was digging around them to get weeds, not companionship with roses.. but again my bother never over watered her roses..

Gees…after 20 years…now he tells me…

Grrr…

Rook said:

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

The new plants are Seaside Daisies, Break of Day Daisies, Roses, Dietes and Natives.

Rook
+++

ummm I am out of my league with those…I know roses have different requirements to natives and that’s about it…

Define natives..

Roses get along OK with natives in general.

although why mix them?

Calistermons and gums

The roses are in an off shoot of the new garden bed, image a letter t on the ground, all the natives are along the long side and 4 roses, a lemon and lime tree are in the small part of the t along with the daisies.

I’ll post some pictures on monday for some constructive critisism

Rook

Rook

Gums are not so fussy and I have seen roses and other plants with them. Callistemon will grow well with roses if the soil is suited to the variety.

;)

roughbarked said:

;)

Oh ho ho ho!!

Ours is (was) Eagle Boys mulch…we are, however, partial to Coopers as a treat…

I’m not telling how long I took to collect them. ;)