Blog: Mr Mulch

–by Karen Connolly, Licenced Property & Strata Manager, Kelowna. Mission Creek Towers' gardens were looking tired. The developer's landscapers had covered the soil in the raised gardens and other beds with a good 4-6 inches of bark mulch--in some areas, almost 8 inches. Over time, some of the bark mulch broke down, but much of it also blew away with the wind. To make matters worse, a heavy clay soil was used by developers for garden beds in the newest phase of the development. Apparently this seems to be standard practice these days. This soil was also topped with an extremely heavy layer...

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You can apply some common practices used in farming to your garden this fall for a spectacular garden next spring -- plant a cover crop! Often, green manure crops are grown for a specific period, and then plowed under before reaching full maturity in order to improve soil fertility and quality. These practices are beneficial to both large farmers and small family gardens. The most common cover crops are the legumes or peas - crops with pods which are typically high in nitrogen such as beans, lentils, lupins and alfalfa. To learn more of this go to (www.permaculture.org) Cover crops are also...

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Now is a good time to mulch your garden, when your veggies' soil has warmed up and you want to keep your plants from drying out. When the soil dries out, plants slow their growth or stop growing altogether. Swift, steady growth is important for the best-tasting fruits and vegetables. The best thing about mulches is they keep our dry Okanagan soil evenly moist. Mulches actually have MANY benefits: They protect against soil erosion by breaking the force of those heavy rains we've been having this spring. Mulches help prevent soil compaction. They discourage the growth of weeds and they...

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