The fact is that the soil organisms are now succeeding where the chemical fertilizers fail. It must be remembered that British soils are forest soils, and they ask for the annual leaf fall which will maintain them and the millions of living organisms that live in them-in a state of healthy well-being. The leaves that fall from the fruit trees are insufficient for their needs, and thus where no other organic matter is given, the British soil loses its capacity for holding moisture, for supplying air freely, as well as supplying many of the elements of plant food.
This means that one needs to have some other job available in the garden which one can work at while the watering is done. It is not easy to wet sawdust, but if the watering is done layer by layer, there is a much greater chance of the whole heap being sufficiently moist so that the bacteria can get to work on it.
Grass is not surface rooting. It may send down fibers 6 feet or more in search of water. A sward under fruit trees must be kept as short as a lawn, preferably by weekly mowing, unless the weather in the summer is hot and dry. Of course, when the branches come down with the fruit, mowing has to cease for a few weeks in the autumn, but when the crop has been picked, it will have to be cut again, so that it is nice and short to face the winter. It is the grass clippings thrown on to the sward which, of course, are regarded as the mulch.
Another South African friend of mine does his mulching of certain soft fruits with sodden newspaper. He composts this and then puts it all over the ground as a top dressing.
Those who live near areas where bracken is growing wild could use this instead of straw, providing they do not introduce live bracken roots.
Others who live near the seaside can collect seaweed and rot this down, either alone or with vegetable waste, and then apply this organic matter all over the surface of the ground as a mulch. - 15266
This means that one needs to have some other job available in the garden which one can work at while the watering is done. It is not easy to wet sawdust, but if the watering is done layer by layer, there is a much greater chance of the whole heap being sufficiently moist so that the bacteria can get to work on it.
Grass is not surface rooting. It may send down fibers 6 feet or more in search of water. A sward under fruit trees must be kept as short as a lawn, preferably by weekly mowing, unless the weather in the summer is hot and dry. Of course, when the branches come down with the fruit, mowing has to cease for a few weeks in the autumn, but when the crop has been picked, it will have to be cut again, so that it is nice and short to face the winter. It is the grass clippings thrown on to the sward which, of course, are regarded as the mulch.
Another South African friend of mine does his mulching of certain soft fruits with sodden newspaper. He composts this and then puts it all over the ground as a top dressing.
Those who live near areas where bracken is growing wild could use this instead of straw, providing they do not introduce live bracken roots.
Others who live near the seaside can collect seaweed and rot this down, either alone or with vegetable waste, and then apply this organic matter all over the surface of the ground as a mulch. - 15266
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To raise the pH of an overly acid soil, add finely ground limestone to your fruit tree garden.
