Mulching questions

[FindingMeno]

Can anyone help with a couple of questions please?

This might seem a bit dozy, but if I were to mulch the garden this Autumn/Winter when there's some moisture in the soil, will the dormant plants I want make their way up through it? Or do I need to do it when the plants have emerged and mulch round them? I can't get my head around the claim that mulch suppresses weeds, so wouldn't it also suppress wanted plants, and self seeding?

Also, I have read that if you use manure you should leave 5 to 10cm between it and plants stems (which seems quite unachievable in a full flowerbed). Does this also apply to Levington farmyard manure that you buy? I have several bags I would like to use.

Any answers gratefully received, and any other mulching tips. This Summer with its hosepipe bans has made me want to try out mulching as a way forward!!!!

I mulch my beds to improve soil where large trees have (I think) stripped it of nutrients but tbh I have the same questions.

I think your established, cut down perennial plants will push their new spring growth through the mulch absolutely no problem. I try to go as close to the crown as possible. I use bagged farmyard manure from garden centres too, its basically like compost doesnt smell at all. I've never managed to suppress any weeds in fact I feel like Im merely fertilizing them and encouraging more and more...

Hopefully someone more expert than me will be along soon!

I spread the mulch all over the bed, avoiding any thick stemmed things which are still visible. It all makes it way through, and of course the mulch breaks down anyway over time. I have never found it suppresses weeds. I've used various mulches, the last one I used was Strulch.

You will be improving and conditioning the existing soil, so it will help during hot dry weather.

I mulch like mad! My plot is 0.4 acre (including house, and we are surrounded by arable fields, so we get loads of weeds from the field edges. So before mulching, give the beds a thorough weeding. The thicker the mulch the better, four inches is good.
what you put on in the autumn will gradually rot down over winter, and in the spring will end up just as a light layer, and the plants will be able to grow through it. When you apply leave a space around the base of tree and shrubs trunks, don't let it go up to the trunk large perennials I mulch around the crown if it's proud of the soil, but not over it.
we compost everything. You can also use grass mowing in the summer, let them dry out for a bit and spread on the beds. Also we have a chipper, which is one of the best things we ever bought, all prunings go into it (so no trips to the tip), and this goes on the beds too. Last winter an old beech tree was blown down, it was sawn for logs, and all the smaller branches went through the chipper and were spread on the beds, really thickly. I was surprised at how they rotted down over the winter, keeping weeds down and nourishing the soil.
I sometimes gets some bags of manure, same procedure. Also your local council tip might have a bin of 'soil improver', basically compost, which is free at our local tip and is brilliant, especially if you have a new bed.
i put a mulch in in the autumn to nourish the soil, and one in the spring to keep the weeds down.

I mulched a large number of my beds a few months ago, so I can’t comment re dormant plants/bulbs coming through when they’re ready.

What I can say is that it’s been great at suppressing weeds, but doesn’t completely eradicate them, so I’m confident that my tulips will push through next spring. All of my beds were a bloody nightmare to keep on top of re weeding, now it is SO much easier. Get the odd few poking through, they’re easy to spot and remove. The worst weed, for me, is bindweed. Impossible to eradicate the stuff unless you get right to the source before mulching.

I didn’t use manure to mulch, as I thought it would just nourish the weeds. I used Magic Mulch by RocketGro and I’m pleased with it so far. Be careful on pricing though. It’s £8 per bag or two for £14 at my local garden centre. On Amazon, it’s £19 per bag!

In the autumn gather as many leaves as you can. If you can cut them, using a blower that chops them up or just running the lawn mower over them that helps them
break down.
Put them in the beds and any excess bag up in bin bags with some holes pierced, give them a sprinkle of water and leave them to rot down ready for when you need them

This is all fantastic advice!

Mulching does not stop weeds growing it reduces weed seeds germinating. Also note it will break down and feed weeds such as bindweed. If you have a perennial weed problem it often makes things worse.

Also many flowers do not need manuring, the ones that do are things like roses and fruit trees which also benefit from potash from the fire. So it is best to choose the plants you put manure around.

Mulching to stop moisture evaporation is to keep putting things like grass mowings around plants all summer whereas putting grass mowings too close to plants in winter can actually damage the stems so you have to be an active mulcher and not just mulch once and expect miracles.

Argh I knew it!! Thanks for this. I've munched the back of beds where flowers end, in front of a conifer line and the bindweed has gone crazy... I was afraid I was doing it wrong!!!

The soil is really dry there in summer and I think very poor, not much there seems to thrive... sorry to hijack thread but I want to nourish the trees and soil, retain as much moisure as possible... what should I do? Thanks.

Edit: I only put manure on the potato beds,,not the flower beds. Oops.