Best way to improve soil - Strulch?

[gardeningnovice5]

I have two large flower beds and clay soil.

Last autumn a load of dead leaves fell on the beds and lots of green alkanet grew, creating a thick cover. I’ve just started removing some of the alkanet from the soil (just because it’s completely taken over and I’d like to grow a few other things) and to my surprise, found that the soil below is moist with a lot of earthworms. Could this be due to the extensive alkanet cover and leaves decomposing?

The other side of the garden had much less alkanet and leaves and the soil is much harder and drier.

I now want to apply a mulch to help improve soil quality and retain moisture.

Would a few bags of Strulch work? If so…

1. Should you leave a small circle around all plant stems when applying to prevent them rotting, or is that not necessary?

2. Do you dig it into the soil or just leave on top - and can I leave decomposing dead leaves under the layer of Strulch?

3. How long does it take for the smell to disappear?

I think a 2-3 inch layer of almost any organic material (strulch, composted bark, manure etc) every spring and/or autumn makes a massive difference within a couple of years.

I just leave it on top and try to leave a little gap around delicate plants - but am not especially careful with this bit.

I never dig it in.

Ps and any smell tends to go within a day or two, at most.

I use strulch because it’s easy to use on allotment but if I had access to leaves I would create a sort of bin out of chicken wire and use those. The smell from strulch goes quite quickly. I just put it on top, right up to quite delicate plants (lettuce etc).

Alkanet is related to comfrey and brilliant for soil- its tap root brings up loads of nutrients from deep underground. I reckon it also helps break up clay soil. Put it all in a bucket of water fir a couple of weeks to make liquid 'stinky plant food' (my daughters words) and the sludgy stuff can go on compost heap.

Yes organic matter is the best thing to improve your soil, but I go for what's cheap and locally available. Rotted manure, green waste compost from the council, and getting home made compost going.

Ah just saw your last question- making smelly plant food from alkanet may not be your thing! But the smell from any fertiliser goes really quickly once you apply it.

Thanks! I don’t have a compost bin and have no idea how to make it - perhaps I should start a separate thread on that.

I’m hoping to plant some sweet pea and other seeds - will putting Strulch on top stop them growing?

I’m going to leave some of the alkanet in places because the bees seem to like it, even if I don’t!

I’m also a bit worried that having dug up the alkanet, the soil will now dry out and go hard. Oh dear! I’m hoping a layer of Strulch will keep the moisture in and the worms happy.

I use a wormery to make worms. All the kitchen waste goes in. Then it gets tipped into whatever empty space I can find the following year. The organic matter and the worms then find their own way around.

And I definitely rely on plants to do the work. Old kitchen bins are my preferred way after having had a tower with removable layers.

Strulch is a bit light so can blow away, it’s expensive, and not very good imo.
Id get some sacks of bark. Most of my bark lasted on the borders for around 5 years before it needed topping up.

What do people think about leaving decomposing leaves under the Strulch layer - I can’t imagine it would do any harm?

Yes, leave the leaves. They have added organic matter and will break down more over time. If you already have strulch then use that. Any other organic matter as a mulch on top will do fine too.

If you want to make your own compost then the beehive shape ones are cheap and you can add all of your veg scraps from the kitchen to garden waste. It does add up.

This is what the soil looks like at the moment (on the side that had the weeds and leaves cover)

There were lots of worms in there, which I’m taking as a good sign.

Another area with thicker dead leaf coverage… is this too much leaves?

Not too much leaves, no.

Agree with pp to leave the leaves (I would chop and drop the alkanet tops too - essentially composting directly) and don't dig anything in.

@gardeningnovice5 Don’t overthink things. Gardening is basically applying natural processes. An enormous number of fallen leaves disappear into the soil every year in the wilder countryside, they will do so in your garden too. We’ve come a long way from the over-fertilised sterile gardens of the 1950s and understand more about how everything depends on a web of fungi and invertebrates.

Do start a compost bin. You wouldn’t expect your soil to do well long term if every year you took a crop from your garden and never put anything back. The same applies if you remove buckets of weeds and put them in your green bin.

You will become an expert on your own soil. You’re already well on the way, looking at your soil and noticing differences. Don’t necessarily follow advice to the letter, try varying things and see what works best for you. Gardening should be fun!

Thanks everyone - really helpful.

I’ve actually just found two old (from last year) bags of manure in the shed - is that an effective mulch? I’m just slightly worried about using it as I’m sure I read somewhere that it can be a disaster for the garden if used wrongly…

That'd be perfect! But do plant your sweet peas seeds in that layer rather than below it- that'd be a bit too deep. Or sow in pots then plant out- makes weeding easier as you're not worrying about leaving tiny seedlings in place! Decomposing leaves with old manure on top will be great! And you're right- since its been so wet and now turning dry this is the perfect time to put a good layer of something on.

Leaves, manure or bark. These things have made a big difference to my soil. I have my own compost heap now but it's a monster!