After we discussed feeding vs compost last year @Fairygirl, I've been buying blends of locally produced organic mulch and have noticed the difference in plant performance even in this year's heat and drought, so thank you again!
I agree too, but that is not the mantra being spouted by some. Manure and compost are wonderful things, but they feed the soil, not the plants.
And the plants go elsewhere for food, they don't get it from the soil? Where do they go, Tesco?
The interaction of soil biota is one of the most complex & barely understood areas of science. I tend to stick to ..organic - good, chemical - bad which has served me reasonably well.
But how are we defining ‘chemical’ … even photosynthesis is a ‘chemical process’.
Chemical ..weedkiller, inorganic pest control sprays or pellets etc. Processes in my own garden like adding compost or manure I can control. Photosynthesis, transpiration etc are biological processes that will, under normal circumstances, occur regardless...ok if I pull up a plant or kill it some other way or restrict its light levels it won't but you get my drift.
I get your drift 😊 but biological processes are full of chemistry aren't they … that’s how they work.
There’s a lot of muddled and wrongheaded thinking around on the internet … you know the sort of thing, “vinegar and salt are safe to spread around your garden because they’re ‘natural’.” … but they’re ‘chemical’ too. Chemical doesn’t equate with unnatural.
I think it’s important to be clear even if it can sometimes seem a bit pedantic😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
On the salt, vinegar etc thing, I think some people say they're safe because they don't harm humans and probably not most mammal pets. Not thinking about the life in the soil.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Exactly @JennyJ … neonicotinoids were thought to be harmless to humans … then, when researchers started to investigate how they harm insects such as bees, they discovered they might not be as harmless to us as had been assumed ..,
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Hopefully, your sweet peas will benefit next year too
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Where do they go, Tesco?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Processes in my own garden like adding compost or manure I can control. Photosynthesis, transpiration etc are biological processes that will, under normal circumstances, occur regardless...ok if I pull up a plant or kill it some other way or restrict its light levels it won't but you get my drift.
aren't they … that’s how they work.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/EHP515
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.