Mulching Garden Beds for Winter Organic Easy and Cheap using Comfrey Used Coffee Grounds and Paper
Tips, Tricks
As your crops come out its time to think of how to continue to improve your soil. If you don't have the average 6-8 weeks for green manure or cover crops to effectively work it may be worth thinking about mulching now while there is still warm weather and biological activity. This will set you up for a healthy and productive garden next spring. We are starting with used coffee grounds that are available in most communities. spreading a 1.5-2.5cm layer 1/2 to 1 inch. over all of the open soil. Mixing in there a small amount of garden soil to help keep the coffee grounds from creating a hard surface. North Carolina State University finding that the npk of used coffee grounds is 2.1 0.3 0.3. the nitrogen is not immediately available however the Phosphorus and Potassium is. Worms enjoy coffee grounds and will be drawn to the area. The pH of used coffee grounds is typically in the range of 6.5 which is well with in the optimal pH for most plant growth. Generally speaking when you brew the coffee any acidity is transferred to the coffee. On top of that a Comfrey is added. Comfrey is a perennial with a deep tap root that mines minerals from the parent material. University of Victoria researchers found that dry comfrey has an NPK of 1.8 0.5 5.3 and has a number of other elements essential to plant life. On top of that a mulch layer of recycled paper that the coffee grounds came in. The mulch will help keep the moisture, prevent erosion and provide both food and protection for our native earth worms by providing insulation from the cold winter temperatures prior to the snow. To top things off our traditional mulch using either grass or dried leafs adds benefit. Both add more trace minerals organic material . It is important to keep the soil moist although the area may not be producing at that time. Keeping the soil moist is important to keep the soil food web moving prior to freeze up. as the temperature drops you won't need to water as often. As fall continues to come we will add dried and crumpled leafs on top along with some of the free resources we have already added. it is important not to mix the components too much as this may cause a hot compost which can damage your plants. leaving the layers thin and unmixed help keep the process cold while still entering the nutrient cycle. over time all of this material will break down and provide the soil food web with the resources it needs to be healthy and as a result your garden plants will be protected and benefit for years to come. If you have 6-8 weeks before your first frost of live in a zone that does not freeze completely check out this video on Green Manure Some of my favorite childhood memories are of gardening with my parents and brothers. This channel is about low cost organic urban gardening in zone 3. I am by no means an expert gardener however I love to share my experiments and journey garden year round. Please feel free to join the conversation and if you think you might like this channel subscribe. Have a great day! Check us out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/stephenlegaree14 Webpage: www.albertaurbangarden.ca Google +: google.com/+StephenLegaree Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlbertaUrbanGarden Twitter: https://twitter.com/northern1485 Pintrest: http://www.pinterest.com/ABurbanGarden/
Comments
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I love this process. I will have to try it. Although the coffee shops I have gone into have said they do not give out coffee grounds. So, I just save my own.
I was wondering how I should overwinter my comfrey. This is my first year growing it so I have not harvested much of it so it would have a chance to grow. Should I cut it back before winter? Or leave it? I live in zone 7b north texas so it freezes but not terribly.
Thank you in advance for any advice you might have. -
Loving this method! Does the comfrey ever take root though?
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Very useful. I will try the paper and leaves this year.
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Very informative my friend! Thank you for sharing! We're getting frost earlier than expected in a couple of weeks! Stay warm!
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Great video. I don't mulch since I live in the Caribbeans but love to use the coffee. I use my own coffee. I let it dry and put it on the plants. I also use egg shells for calcium and home made compost. Gardening is awesome. Thanks Stephen
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This was very interesting. Thank you.
I found you through your talk on pine needles on the One Yard Revolution video and I was wondering if I could use pine needles, which I have in abundance, somewhere in the layering process you describe here. I do not have comfrey, but I do have leaves of Robinia pseudoacacia, and I'm wondering if they could be of use along with pine needles.
I live in southern Italy and we rarely get snow, although it can freeze several times during the winter months. -
I was inspired by your mention of the deep roots of comfrey to think of rhubarb as a good source of nutrients in leaves deriving from its deep roots to search about it's root system (I was reminded that the leaves are poisonous) - and found this. It is old so lacking in peer reviewed science but rich in knowledge of what works and what doesn't from generations of traditional use. You might find some insights regarding your rhubarb. http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010137veg.roots/010137ch7.html
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Thank you so much for your video script in the description! This helps my gardening students tremendously at our school!
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Well done as always Stephen! Hope you're having a nice Labour Day!
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Yeah the winter is not too far away at all , I can feel the difference already at night with the chill in the air , but it might be because of my location it always is a bit colder as the wind blows off the water
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Great Video Stephen, thank you! I wonder if you or anyone has used dry corn plants as mulch? I have quite a few at this point.
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interesting stuff Stephen. I have heard both you and Patrick talk about comfrey. Is comfrey not a spreading plant? Could you grow it in buckets? As always your info is great.
Cheers
Harold -
yes--I do this always every year--thx for sharing
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Hi Steven,
This a a good tip. I like t build up the layers on my beds in fall too and then work them in come spring.
I like that you talk about coffee grounds I've been collecting them but haven't put it in the garden yet.
Thanks for sharing!
Scarlett
thumbs up! -
As your pulling your crops in for the winter you have a great opportunity to help build your soil! Mulching is cheap easy and effective. With free resources i show how to protect your garden for the winter and give it a running head start next year and for years to come.
http://youtu.be/sWAKRL29kdM -
Good info going to be mulching this year fall.
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Excellent advice on mulching in preparation for winter! Yikes, I can't believe we're talking about winter already. We should be planting our cover crops next weekend, then we'll probably mulch with leaves in December.
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great video
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I would use cardboard too, as the worms love the glue that is in the cardboard, and it is non-toxic
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