Hi, I am wondering if I can get some advice. This will be my first spring as a member of CVHS.
When do I top dress my garden to amend the soil and what do you suggest I use? Last summer I attended a garden tour and the gardener said she used 2 year old dairy manure. I am looking for any and all suggestions.
How much should I put on ( depth)?Do you have recommendations for sources? Should I mulch as well?
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I usually use the compost available from Vancouver Island Enterprises to do my food garden mulching:
They offer a 10% discount to CVHS members which is helpful!
Also, you may be eligible for in the Water Conservation Rebate from the CVRD. They recommend a depth of 2" so that’s what I’ve been doing:
I also have small chipper (good up to 3.5" branches) that I use to chip down all the wood/debris that has accumulated in the past year and spread that over the non-food beds.
As for when to do this, I used to do it as soon as the weather got nice (ie. now!). This year I’m wondering if it would be better for ground nesting insects to wait a little longer. Would love to hear others’ thoughts.
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Thank you so much for the information. It’s really helpful!
I have a beekeeper friend who suggested that I wait for 2 more weeks to allow for the bumblebees to emerge from their underground winter spots before cleaning up the garden.
She did we should see them on helebors and lungwort first.
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We forwarded this question to the Milner Gardens & Woodland’s Gardening Advice team that is offered through a partnership between Vancouver Island University’s Milner Gardens & Woodland and the Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association. Many thanks for this response:
Thank you for your question regarding soil amendments and mulching.
Are you gardening in an established garden or is it a new plot? You may want to have the soil tested to see what amendments may be needed. Here is a link to a soil testing company in Sydney in case you want to pursue that option.
https://www.mblabs.com/tools-information/information/soil-testing-services.php
Amendments are usually spread over an entire area and in the spring, lightly forked in. Many gardeners are using the no-till system now to preserve soil structure so deep digging is not necessary.
You mentioned cow manure as an option. We contacted Linda Gilkeson, a Saltspring Island entomologist and garden guru for her thoughts on manure. She suggested if a free source of manure was available to you, it might be an option if the manure had been hot composted to kill weed seeds and any pathogens. If manure has been uncovered in a pile for a couple of years, she suggested it wouldn’t be much use because most of the nutrients would have been leached out by rain. She also mentioned Seasoil as a great alternative. Although it is more expensive, you need less and it is an excellent product.
Good compost is your best bet, perhaps along with an organic all-purpose fertilizer such as Gaia Green, spread over the entire area.
Mulching is always a good idea. There are several reasons why a gardener chooses to mulch as well as what to use. It is really a layer of material spread over the soil to achieve one or more of the following possible benefits.
reduce soil compaction from prolonged rain
minimize erosion
suppress weeds
provide nutrients
moderate soil temperature
reduce evaporation and keep the soil moist.
Organic mulches come from something that was once alive like straw, yard debris, leaves and compost. Leaves and grass clippings are free and available to most of us.
These will all decompose over time and provide food for earthworms and other microbes as well as nutrients for the plants. If you apply in the fall you may use green, non composted material. However, if applied in spring just prior to planting, you should use already composted material. Apply two to four inches deep on the soil surface but do not cover the crown of the plants or the plants themselves. Then in the fall you can remove any diseased leaves and weeds and work the mulch into the soil which will improve its texture.
Linda Gilkeson says ,“Mulches are vey beneficial in coastal gardens in summer, fall and winter. The one time they have drawbacks is in the spring because they keep the soil cool just when we want it to warm up for seeds. Therefore a week or two before sowing seeds in a particular bed, I rake the remaining mulch off the bed into the pathway to let the soil warm up and make it easier to fork in amendments.”
In addition, the presence of mulch will help deter slugs from eating new seedlings. Mulching can also improve the gardens appearance and tidiness as well as reducing time on
watering and weeding. During winter mulches can protect the roots of the plants from extreme temps.
We hope this has given you some helpful information and wish you the best of luck on your gardening journey.
Kindly,
Gail and Dona
*note- weed free straw may be a fire hazard depending where you use it
“Backyard Bounty” Linda Gilkeson
Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association
Phone: 250-752-0312
Email: GardeningAdvice.MilnerGardens@shaw.ca
Web: www2.viu.ca/milnergardens/gardening-advice.asp
Milner Gardens & Woodland’s Gardening Advice is offered through a partnership between Vancouver Island University’s Milner Gardens & Woodland and the Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association.
Advice is given without charge and although it is believed to be correct, it is given on the basis that there is no liability on the part of the Master Gardener, VIU, or the Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association.
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