Last Sunday I had a close encounter with worms.
As a child, I was fascinated by them: I used to watch them wriggle uncomfortably on my palm whilst I plotted surprises to inflict on my classmates. The song, ”Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I’m going down the garden path to eat worms…”, still drifts through my head when I see boys sulking. Oh happy days!
What I didn’t appreciate then was that they are really good news and I must now confess to dispensing contradictory advice on this matter. On the one hand I recommended raising a compost heap off the ground to discourage vermin. On the other hand, I recently advised all you keen gardeners that having the base on the soil will accelerate the decomposition process. And boy - it really does too!
Now, I know in the scheme of things such as world cup rugby finals, this is a small matter, but when I tipped my compost out to let predators finish off the woodlice that had infested my compost bin, I was amazed at the results. I would say that the worms that had come up from the soil had accelerated the composting process by about tenfold. I didn’t have to go down the garden path to eat worms: they were coming up to meet me.
So, unless you have a serious local vermin problem, I would go for the “compost-on-the-soil” option. If you don’t add any cooked foods or proteins to the heap, you will reduce the chances of a nasty, furry surprise. Alternatively, you can go to your garden centre and pay a fortune for a bag of compost that has hundreds of road miles. Readers - no pressure there at all.
• If you want to plan some spring cheer, there is still time to plant out tulip bulbs, including the autumn flowering variety.
• Raking leaves can seem to be an endless task, but it is worth it. Firstly, it allows the lawn to breathe and reduces the chance of mould developing in your lawn. Secondly, the leaves are good news in a compost heap when a layer of soil is added every 30 cm or so.
• Burning leaves is another way of processing them: the ash is good for the soil as it is high on potassium - the element that encourages fruit and flowers. Add any diseased plant material to the fire too including rose leaves that have black spot.
• Put rabbit guards on new trees to stop them gnawing at the bark if food is scarce in a harsh winter. Check tree ties too: loosen one that are too tight as this restriction can inhibit the flow of sap and therefore nutrients, around the tree.
• Prune shrub and standard roses by about a third in order that the wind does not move them around and damage the root system.
• Lift pots and containers off the ground by a few centimeters and give them “feet” of tiles or stone to avoid water logging. Pots that are fragile should have their winter wrap to prevent frost damage: bubble wrap is effective.
• Mary Poppins fans may agree that now is the time to feed the birds. (Tuppence a bag may, however, be asking for too much.)
Finally, don’t think the coming autumn and winter is all gloom: when I worked as a gardener, I was amazed at how much solar light there was in the winter months.
Don’t take my word for it - go out there and enjoy the shapes, the shades and the shadows.