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Preparing for the winter

Hi, having spent ages weeding around my beds I was wondering what is the best course of action for the coming months.  What is good for the plants?  ie, do I need to put down well rotted manure for the winter? and should I put something down such as bark to keep the weeds down?

Many thanks

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    Manure (well rotted ) is perfect as a soil conditioner, so that's ideal as a mulch - the worms will help to take it down into the soil, so just lay on the surface. If it's not wellrotted, it's fine to put down atthe start of winter on bare areas (no plants) where you want to get a space ready to plant up next year.

    You can also use spent compost (from pots etc) or home made compost, which will mulch, and suppress weeds.

    Bark chips are great to 'dress' , and suppress weeds areas that are  already in good heart, and they'll gradually break down and get into the soil. Most acid loving plants benefit from it, in particular. 

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096

    Wood chip as a mulch is great and often free

  • MeomyeMeomye Posts: 949

    Thanks for replies, I will get 'muck spreading' asap,  as to the bark chips, are there any particular ones that you can suggest?

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