Growing mulch
- Katrina
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
Nature for people
There is something I have to admit. It’s a bit weird. But the fact is: I love watching videos of people creating beautiful no dig gardens within a day. Tons of black beautiful compost is layered on top of any soil. Paths made from wood chips keep everything neat and create a geometrical shape in the garden that gives a sense of peace. Then come the plants. Their lush green set off beautifully against the black compost. It’s heaven to watch. You can just imagine what an abundant crop they are going to have. A rainbow of fresh produce that is great for your vitality and gut health. Nature for people at its best.

But the truth is, I’m too cheap to buy that much compost. Also, compost and mulch is heavy, with a substantial environmental footprint caused by transport. So instead, I am lookin at what nature provides in my own garden. It is different in every garden, but in mine I have lots of meadow. And I’m not afraid to use it.
Making your own mulch means it is possible for everyone to adopt no dig methods. In the end, there are just a few rules. Rule #1: Make sure you don’t use any material that can easily grow into a plant. We are talking seedheads, runners, and roots/ bulbs/ corms. Rule #2: any fresh organic matter will compost down over time if there is moisture and oxygen. Rule #3: stop worrying about hot composting with a 30:1 carbon: nitrogen ratio. Cold composting works, and leaves you with an amazing mulch tat improves the soil.

So what does that mean in practice? I let my grass and weeds grow in spring. This time of the year (end of spring) before things set seed, I take a scythe or sickle, and cut plants down. I mix the wet hay together with hedge clippings that I saved early spring to make a windrow wherever I want to grow food in a few months' time. The windrow gets turned after about 3 to 4 weeks, if possible on a rainy day, along my new growing patch. I have no problems topping it up with fresh material every time I turn it.
It is a beautiful system. I’m left with a nice soil where I remove the windrow. I leave that bare for two weeks and then hoe off anything that was still viable under there - the cold composting does not kill off seeds. And I carefully dig out any perennial roots at this stage - a lot easier now that the soil is loosened up. Yes it did take time. But the results are great.
Sometimes solutions are this simple. And by the end of the year, I have a lush vegetable garden, for free! An added bonus that in this way I remove the maximum amount of nutrients from my meadow. Meadows often fail because of the high nitrogen content of the soil. A win win. Get in touch if you want us to look into solutions for your particular garden - because not one situation is the same.
Katrina
Founding Co Director of the Huntly Greenspace Collective
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