The bags of freshly chipped bark that are waiting to be spread on the paths in the garden have provided an unexpected benefit. When I noticed how quickly the bark was heating up, it occurred to me that I could use them as giant propagators. The broad beans that had shown no sign of germinating in the greenhouse started to shoot after 3 days in their cosy new quarters. Very satisfying. There is an extraordinary amount of bacterial and fungal activity in the chippings, so much so that I’m taking the precaution of wearing a face mask when spreading it to avoid inhaling the smoke-like clouds of dust. For the photo I moved one of the seedboxes to one side to reveal the network of fungus that has formed.
Live from Chelsea
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Pruning like a pro
How well do you know your Espaliers ?
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Neat idea- i’ve reblogged your post on Old School Garden with a link back to here. All the best1
Nigel
Great idea, can’t wait to try it out!
To speed it up water with dilute urine (Male) put down an inch or two.add mixture top up.Will start heating up so much quicker.
Never would have thought of that!
Only yesterday I was staring at bags of bark chippings in my local poundstretcher – wish I’d bought em now lol
Linda
Great idea – and a timely reminder to get a wriggle on with my broad bean seeds (if I can fit ithe task in between snow showers!