Take a minute to find out which materials make the best 'well-rotted organic matter'
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'Farmyard manure may contain weed seeds and possibly pesticide residues, but will possess good supplies of nitrogen that encourages new plant growth.'
Whether your garden is large or small, it is important to have a ready supply of organic matter. You can produce organic matter from your own garden if it's large enough – otherwise you can buy it in. Typical options are:
Garden compost
It's free and easy to make garden compost from kitchen and garden waste. The results can be variable, however, depending on what you add to the heap and the proportions of each material added. Be aware that if your compost heap is new, or you only have one heap, the well-rotted organic matter may not be ready when you need it. See more on garden compost in 'Related Articles' at the end of this page.
Leaf mould
Make leaf mould by collecting all your fallen leaves together and leaving them to rot down to a fine, crumbly texture. You can use an open wire cage, or place damp leaves in black plastic bags and seal them. The final leaf mould is low in nutrients and may take two years to develop. The leaves from apple, oak and birch trees rot more quickly than beech, sycamore and walnut.
Spent mushroom compost
Spent mushroom compost is a mix of peat and manure, previously used for growing mushrooms. It often has a pH value above 7, which makes it alkaline and so not recommended for use near acid-loving plants. It is usually weed-free.
Farmyard manure
Farmyard manure can come from horses or cattle. It can be wet and heavy and may scorch plants if used fresh, so it's best to wait until it has rotted down to a blacker, more crumbly material. It may contain weed seeds and possibly pesticide residues, but will possess good supplies of nitrogen that encourages new plant growth. Local stables will often supply horse manure for free.
Fresh wood chippings
Use fresh wood chippings from your shredder, or in bulk from a tree surgeon's heavy-duty wood chipper. The fresh woody material has yet to rot down, a process needing nitrogen. If you spread fresh wood chippings on soil where there are plants, or dig them into that soil, they might take nitrogen from the soil and reduce the supply to your plants. For this reason it's better to use a different material, or spread a nitrogen-based fertiliser under the mulch to feed both the decaying chippings and the plants.
Composted bark chips
Composted bark chips are only partially composted, so they are often spread as a mulch, but they will continue to break down to a finer crumb in time.
Gardening tip
Other locally available materials that offer some benefit as organic matter include straw, seaweed, spent hops or pine needles – the latter is particularly good for acid-loving plants.
Feature adapted by Sarah Brocklehurst.
* See 'Related articles' at the bottom of this page for more on soil and compost.
*Subscribers to Gardens Monthly magazine, check out the related article 'Organic matter' at the bottom of this page, for an in-depth look at methods and materials for improving your soil.
denotes Subscriber-only content | Thursday 21 August 2008 | Help | Glossary 
