Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

i've got a garden bed with wood chip mulch on it and i need to reapply manure to it as the first lot i put in has broken down.
should i rake back the existing mulch or just go over the top with the manure and throw more mulch ontop.
i've read that wood chips can deplete N if they are encorporated into the soil.

Hi Timmy,
I would rake the old mulch off, put down your manure and then rake it back on. Then you won't have to go and get new mulch.
If the wood mulch is very old and thin then cover it over it won't do the nitrogen draw down, that usually occurs when the mulch is fresh.
If it is an ornamental garden bed then wood chips are great but for vegies use something like lucerne hay or pea straw as your mulch, you feed the soil as you mulch, builds up good humus over time.
I guess the difference in the mulch types used is for aesthetic purposes. Ornamentals front garden, formal and all that. Vegies out the back who cares what they look like so long as they grow good veg.
But break the mould and put pea straw everywhere!
Dale

i've got citrus and herbs in the bed so it's decorative as well as functional.
the mulch has become a little thin in places so i think i'll rake it level, apply new sheep poo, rake the old mulch over it and add some more where it's not thick enough.
i'm thinking 20cm of poo and 10cm of mulch should do the trick

You know not to put any of it too close to the lemon tree trunk don't you?

yeah, i really just need to give the manure another hit and relay the retic.
which actually brings me to another question - those weeping pipes made of recycled tires, safe or not in a food garden?
right now i've got drip lines/drippers, and frankly they are shit house. they block in perth's sandy soil in a week. something like the permable pipes that weep water would be better.

I use those weeping hoses in my veg garden, have never actually thought whether they are safe or not -you mean from the heavy metals that are trapped in old tyres?
Could be something to look into.

I have had some for a few years, they are okay, tend to kink when old and break. Don't use them for grey water they block up and are then useless.
I won't buy any more of them.
I have found the old green flat ones with holes on one side not bad, I just lay them upside down so the water goes into the ground rather than the air.
I have found lots on hard rubbish piles, people chuckem out thinking they are sprinklers and banned with water restrictions, but turn em over and they are pretty good. Good for being a freebee anyway.
When I lived in Perth I had those drippers and they got ants in them all the time, had to go round with a needle and poke the blighters out regularly.
I will be changing my veg ground garden over to wicking beds over time. Check out Colin Austens dvd for $12 all about wicking beds, it is good.
There is a thread round here about wicking beds if you haven't heard of them before.
Dale

it seems impossible to get an informed answer on the recycled rubber.

I have tried the hoses with the inbuilt drippers. Colour coded in Bunnings as purple for grey water and brown for regular. But I found some cheap at the reject shop and they are black. Are you familiar? Black 19mm polypipe with drippers inside at 30cm or so distance from each other.
They connect well from garden hoses and just fold the end and wrap in wire or something.
They work well.
Dale

from what i can see there's a lot of FUD about tyres from organic nazi's. it's those nasty "chemicals" again...