Mulch

We are finally catching up in the garden.

Jean's new Hugelkulture bed for the orange Blossom

 

A while ago we picked up two large round bales of silage from a nearby farmer. These were not of good quality and the farmer sold them as mulch for $30 a bale. This is a very attractive price although large round bales are not as easy to handle as small squares. But a large round is the equivalent of about 10 to 15 small square bales.

The farmer was kind enough to remove the wrapping some weeks before we collected the bales allowing them to dry out and dramatically reduce the weight. It also removes any fermentation smell.

The best way to use round bales is to chainsaw it into 4 quarters. Just stand the bale into an upright tube and run the chainsaw down. It's possible to cut into more segments if smaller pieces are required.

The bale splits into easily manageable segments and you can choose the thickness you desire by just grabbing the necessary number of layers.

We have started to heavily mulch around various parts of the garden in preparation for next Summer. Because of the shallow soil on our property we find Citrus in particular with their shallow roots need a good mulch covering. But in general just about everything else in the garden handles the hot dry Summer better with a thick layer of mulch.

 

This is the best time of year for us to mulch because the soil is damp from the Autumn rains and the mulch will now lock in that moisture. Mulching when the soil is dry tends to lock in the dry soil which takes longer to re-hydrate.