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Padawan has questions
Heartinthedirt
Posts: 300
Perlite and vermiculite. What's the diff?
Has anyone come across/used clay breaker? Worth the bother or should I just mulch like a mulching fool over winter?
Composting - can everything from the garden go in (presumable not seed heads?)
Has anyone come across/used clay breaker? Worth the bother or should I just mulch like a mulching fool over winter?
Composting - can everything from the garden go in (presumable not seed heads?)
It's knowing what to do with things that counts - Robert Frost
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A lot of stuff from the garden can be composted but not perennial weed roots like bindweed and dandelions. Woody stuff is best shredded. Too many lawn mowings at once don't work well, they either go slimy if too wet or powdery and mouldy if too dry.
They're largely interchangeable - both are light and both hold and release moisture.
Vermiculite breaks down in a few months
Perlite breaks down in a year or so.
For something that lasts longer, you'd use horticultural grit which lasts forever
I've used composted bark to break up clay.
It worked surprisingly fast - and it smells nice
I just put prunings from plants, grass clippings, shredded branches and as much cardboard as I can. And LOTS of tea leaves
I don't compost weeds anymore - I learned the hard way and am still paying the consequences!
Hope you're recovery continues well
Best of luck!
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
The best way to improve clay is to pile on the mulch every autumn once perennials have died back and annuals have been lifted and then leave it for the worms and other soil organisms to play with and work in over winter.
Composting - no seed heads, no pernicious weeds such as bindweed or nettles that can regrow from teeny bits. OK if you leave them on the side too dry out completely first. No cooked food or fats as they will attract rats but raw kitchen waste from prepping fruit and veg is fine. Crushed egg shells are fine. Some people say no citrus peels or rhubarb leaves but they've never been a problem for us.