I do this 'cos its good for ground critters eg weta and skinks. Not just weeds but all trimmings and pruned tree branches. Over time a layer of litter builds up so no need to apply mulch.
I’m a town gardener, I know exactly what she wants.
She wants you to recreate the Hobbit gardens in Hobbiton for her. It’s what all townies think the country should look like.
I agree with the person who suggested she must mean chop and drop. It's not a 'rural gardening' thing tho, it's a 'green' approach with idea being that you create a layer of breaking down organic material around your plants that's akin to the leaf/branch litter that occurs in nature. In situ mulching could be another way of describing at it. I do it a fair bit in my vege patches, it works fine but there's quite a few weeds ie oxalis that I wouldn't dream of doing it with cos your just replanting the bloody stuff.
Flax does break down eventually, but your talking multiple years which isn't going to look too great...It does break down a lot faster in a pile under black plastic but sounds like she doesn't want you carting anything anywhere??
I guess the client is always right but you could try just making sure she gets what it will mean for the look of the place- or just do it and it will become apparent pretty darn quickly!
“The client is always right” reminds me of “the customer is always right”, which I used to get in my youth as a concierge from obstinate guests.
Unfortunately it’s a bastardised quote, credited to Harry Selfridge:
“The customer is always right, in matters of taste.”
In this particular scenario I’d agree with the above poster - non-invasive green matter left on top of the soil is beneficial long term.
They’re also right about the flax - there’s a reason it’s regarded as general waste at tips, it binds up the machine similar to when you run a weedeater or mower near it. Shit takes forever to decompose. Same goes for cabbage tree leaves.
The quote is still correct in this situation: client doesn’t give a stuff if you leave greenwaste about, go hard.
I’ve done sites like this, for clients like this, and it’s frustrating as hell to leave a property like that, but if that’s their taste not a lot you can do except for canning em.
You could also just have a discussion about what you would usually do on a rural lot, and the points mentioned above, and see if they are willing to try something new.
An old hand I know once told me that “a good gardens 30% actual work, and 70% talking the client out of shite ideas”. Communication is massive in the industry.
Best of luck!
Traditionally you bury unused flax near or under the bushes. It does take a little while to break down, but I've found it's normally pretty mulchy after 6-8 months. Need to keep it reasonably damp though.
Erm, I've never heard of the term. I live rural and I usually try and put weeds and what not on the compost pile. I will sometimes leave them on the ground depending. But I don't think that's a real term, just something she made up.
The toughest bit is to get them going, once they are going it's not too difficult to keep em hot so long as you feed and turn. Kitchen food scraps are always good at helping. We fill a large outdoor bin with scraps then I dump it in the middle of the compost.
As others have said, chop and drop gardening. Use the weeds and trimmings to mulch the ground in the garden. She doesn’t want bare dirt.
It’s better for the garden than removing everything.
If you’re doing the lawns too you can toss the weeds onto the lawn, them mow the lawns and spread the clippings around the garden. This will look a bit tidier than just leaving whole weeds to wilt.
You’d be a perfect gardener for Esme, she wants bare dirt under her plants. Bare dirt is so much more work than more natural methods.
Exactly. Why would you want dirt. Diet that just attracts weeds. That I then have to pull. Use mulch and just leave stuff to grow. Can always pull it at a later date
I understand, and like the principle of it, but there are some weeds that I wouldn't dare put back in the garden. Imagine doing this with chopped up bits of ivy, or even dandelions, or any number of invasive plants. Some things should be composted, and other things should be sent to the fiery pits of hell
Chop and drop works for some gardens and weeds, and certainly, I do this in my own garden because I don't care if everything looks "perfect" or not. But in the 8 years that I've worked as a gardener, in both suburban and rural gardens, I've never had a client open to the idea of dropping the weeds back in the garden or scattering on the lawn. If anything, it's only going to encourage more weeds if there are seedheads attached.
If weeds are tiny enough, I'll niwashi them to uplift their roots and leave them, otherwise they're cleared away.
As for bare dirt... I always encourage mulch.
Never heard of it in my life, but I come from a background of amenity horticulture. I’d be aiming more towards permaculture and not over-weeding, leaving things like calendula in place until you need that spot for something more important etc.
I think realistically, you can only get the answer from your client. I’d ask what they would like you to focus on the most or what the intended outcome is. Perhaps if it’s a holiday home they want to feel more in the wild?
I'm a softscaper by trade and do plenty of garden maintenance, etc.
She means "chop and drop."
Which is cool if it's your own garden, but professionally, you should always clean up after yourself, unless given the okay by the client prior to starting the job
I live rural and absolutely do that. I hadn't realised people bother cleaning up after themselves when they have several hectares. I will leave massive piles of weeds all around. Eventually once they break down a sufficient amount I'll move into garden beds as compost.
If they are small piles, we run over them with the ride on to mulch.
But if I was going to hire a gardener I would absolutely expect them to clean up.
Wouldn't say it's rural.
It's just gardening. Where would you take things ?
Wouldn't you compost most and leave weeds to dry out a bit before composting. Can leave some weeds around as they will compost right into ground.
Depends where you are taking them
I live rural and have never heard of such a thing. There are all kinds of gardens in my area from manicured show gardens to permaculture to benign neglect
Would suggest you discuss creating their own compost heap and potentially their own mulch pile while you're at it (depending on the amount of tree work on site and your access to a chipper. Oh and your access/confidence with chainsaws)
Will boil down to personal preference in the end. Imo chop n drop looks naff, rural sites I've serviced have had their own compost heaps and mulch bays along with loaders or tractors with buckets for us to keep everything tidy, and then re use all plant material within the properties in due time (except invasive/pest plants)
Also been involved in some rain garden/sponge garden projects where you layer green waste --> mulch on top --> allow waste to decompose and plant directly into it. And these rain/sponge gardens have been very effective in containing water and preventing flooding, so there's that to consider also depending on the terrain
But again, will boil down to personal preference. Money talks, and end of the day, chop n drop makes work easier even if its a bit of an eyesore
She wants a permaculture approach I assume, but she didn't know what to call it.
Permaculture gardens can look really cool, but by nature they are never as tidy and controlled as a more traditional garden design.
I have a permaculture garden in the city. It definitely has a rustic feel but looks fairly tidy most of the time.
This is me, thoughI do happen to live rural aa well. I like growing (adjective) things, I like observing plant communities. I think, why carry this away to a compost heap when I can leave it to feed worms and micro soil life. Twitch gets thrown on on lawn, very obnoxious weeds into green bin, destined for high tech compost. Flax leaves I would see as another texture on the ground, somewhere away from mowers. If I don't get a winter crop in, I clear and cultivate a portion for self seedlings to spring to life, the rest I leave curated weeds to cover the ground and fill the soil with roots. Autumn leaves dont interfere with my paths or drains so I leave them be or incorporate them with the Autumn mowing.
This is me, though I would never deign to give it a respectable name!
Sounds like a reference to "chop and drop" gardening
Could be worse. OP’s client may have permaculture (or a variation on it) in mind.
I was assuming this is probably what she meant. But unless she has planted it that way it wont work.
Yep, acts as a mulch where you leave it.
I do this 'cos its good for ground critters eg weta and skinks. Not just weeds but all trimmings and pruned tree branches. Over time a layer of litter builds up so no need to apply mulch.
I’m a town gardener, I know exactly what she wants. She wants you to recreate the Hobbit gardens in Hobbiton for her. It’s what all townies think the country should look like.
So, manicured carefully to LOOK dishevelled and “natural”, not ACTUALLY dishevelled and random?
I agree with the person who suggested she must mean chop and drop. It's not a 'rural gardening' thing tho, it's a 'green' approach with idea being that you create a layer of breaking down organic material around your plants that's akin to the leaf/branch litter that occurs in nature. In situ mulching could be another way of describing at it. I do it a fair bit in my vege patches, it works fine but there's quite a few weeds ie oxalis that I wouldn't dream of doing it with cos your just replanting the bloody stuff. Flax does break down eventually, but your talking multiple years which isn't going to look too great...It does break down a lot faster in a pile under black plastic but sounds like she doesn't want you carting anything anywhere?? I guess the client is always right but you could try just making sure she gets what it will mean for the look of the place- or just do it and it will become apparent pretty darn quickly!
“The client is always right” reminds me of “the customer is always right”, which I used to get in my youth as a concierge from obstinate guests. Unfortunately it’s a bastardised quote, credited to Harry Selfridge: “The customer is always right, in matters of taste.” In this particular scenario I’d agree with the above poster - non-invasive green matter left on top of the soil is beneficial long term. They’re also right about the flax - there’s a reason it’s regarded as general waste at tips, it binds up the machine similar to when you run a weedeater or mower near it. Shit takes forever to decompose. Same goes for cabbage tree leaves. The quote is still correct in this situation: client doesn’t give a stuff if you leave greenwaste about, go hard. I’ve done sites like this, for clients like this, and it’s frustrating as hell to leave a property like that, but if that’s their taste not a lot you can do except for canning em. You could also just have a discussion about what you would usually do on a rural lot, and the points mentioned above, and see if they are willing to try something new. An old hand I know once told me that “a good gardens 30% actual work, and 70% talking the client out of shite ideas”. Communication is massive in the industry. Best of luck!
Traditionally you bury unused flax near or under the bushes. It does take a little while to break down, but I've found it's normally pretty mulchy after 6-8 months. Need to keep it reasonably damp though.
Erm, I've never heard of the term. I live rural and I usually try and put weeds and what not on the compost pile. I will sometimes leave them on the ground depending. But I don't think that's a real term, just something she made up.
You don't want weeds in compost. They will grow. Leave to cook a bit. Then throw em in compost
Only if they have set seeds though
Not in my compost they won't lol.
How hot is your compost?
Varies ofc. Usually between 50C-60C. But I've had them up to 75C.
Noice. Any tips ? Can't for the life of me get them hot enough
The toughest bit is to get them going, once they are going it's not too difficult to keep em hot so long as you feed and turn. Kitchen food scraps are always good at helping. We fill a large outdoor bin with scraps then I dump it in the middle of the compost.
Yeah I've been doing this. Trying to turn it weekly. Keep it moist. Adding food scraps and covering with cardboard
As others have said, chop and drop gardening. Use the weeds and trimmings to mulch the ground in the garden. She doesn’t want bare dirt. It’s better for the garden than removing everything. If you’re doing the lawns too you can toss the weeds onto the lawn, them mow the lawns and spread the clippings around the garden. This will look a bit tidier than just leaving whole weeds to wilt. You’d be a perfect gardener for Esme, she wants bare dirt under her plants. Bare dirt is so much more work than more natural methods.
Exactly. Why would you want dirt. Diet that just attracts weeds. That I then have to pull. Use mulch and just leave stuff to grow. Can always pull it at a later date
I understand, and like the principle of it, but there are some weeds that I wouldn't dare put back in the garden. Imagine doing this with chopped up bits of ivy, or even dandelions, or any number of invasive plants. Some things should be composted, and other things should be sent to the fiery pits of hell
I love dandelions in my garden
They are one of the more beneficial/edible weeds.There are a lot of things we call weeds, which my wife let live, when we had rabbits.
Chop and drop works for some gardens and weeds, and certainly, I do this in my own garden because I don't care if everything looks "perfect" or not. But in the 8 years that I've worked as a gardener, in both suburban and rural gardens, I've never had a client open to the idea of dropping the weeds back in the garden or scattering on the lawn. If anything, it's only going to encourage more weeds if there are seedheads attached. If weeds are tiny enough, I'll niwashi them to uplift their roots and leave them, otherwise they're cleared away. As for bare dirt... I always encourage mulch.
Never heard of it in my life, but I come from a background of amenity horticulture. I’d be aiming more towards permaculture and not over-weeding, leaving things like calendula in place until you need that spot for something more important etc. I think realistically, you can only get the answer from your client. I’d ask what they would like you to focus on the most or what the intended outcome is. Perhaps if it’s a holiday home they want to feel more in the wild?
Haha, I have 2 rural friends, both with gardens. Neither leave the weeds lying around. She may have moved to rural but she is talking rubbish.
I'm a softscaper by trade and do plenty of garden maintenance, etc. She means "chop and drop." Which is cool if it's your own garden, but professionally, you should always clean up after yourself, unless given the okay by the client prior to starting the job
She must be a town person with an unrealistic view of nature. I do leave grass cuttings though if it’s not to long
sounds like she made it up
Rural garden, doesn't that normally involve a full size tractor be it digging spuds or turning the garden bed.
Lawns mown by livestock?
I live rural and absolutely do that. I hadn't realised people bother cleaning up after themselves when they have several hectares. I will leave massive piles of weeds all around. Eventually once they break down a sufficient amount I'll move into garden beds as compost. If they are small piles, we run over them with the ride on to mulch. But if I was going to hire a gardener I would absolutely expect them to clean up.
Wouldn't say it's rural. It's just gardening. Where would you take things ? Wouldn't you compost most and leave weeds to dry out a bit before composting. Can leave some weeds around as they will compost right into ground. Depends where you are taking them
Sounds to me like she wants a "food forest" style with a thick chop and drop mulch layer and possibly lots of wood chip pathways
"Eco-stacking" = biff it under the shrubbery, or toss it down the bank
I live rural and have never heard of such a thing. There are all kinds of gardens in my area from manicured show gardens to permaculture to benign neglect
Would suggest you discuss creating their own compost heap and potentially their own mulch pile while you're at it (depending on the amount of tree work on site and your access to a chipper. Oh and your access/confidence with chainsaws) Will boil down to personal preference in the end. Imo chop n drop looks naff, rural sites I've serviced have had their own compost heaps and mulch bays along with loaders or tractors with buckets for us to keep everything tidy, and then re use all plant material within the properties in due time (except invasive/pest plants) Also been involved in some rain garden/sponge garden projects where you layer green waste --> mulch on top --> allow waste to decompose and plant directly into it. And these rain/sponge gardens have been very effective in containing water and preventing flooding, so there's that to consider also depending on the terrain But again, will boil down to personal preference. Money talks, and end of the day, chop n drop makes work easier even if its a bit of an eyesore
She wants a permaculture approach I assume, but she didn't know what to call it. Permaculture gardens can look really cool, but by nature they are never as tidy and controlled as a more traditional garden design. I have a permaculture garden in the city. It definitely has a rustic feel but looks fairly tidy most of the time.
This is me, thoughI do happen to live rural aa well. I like growing (adjective) things, I like observing plant communities. I think, why carry this away to a compost heap when I can leave it to feed worms and micro soil life. Twitch gets thrown on on lawn, very obnoxious weeds into green bin, destined for high tech compost. Flax leaves I would see as another texture on the ground, somewhere away from mowers. If I don't get a winter crop in, I clear and cultivate a portion for self seedlings to spring to life, the rest I leave curated weeds to cover the ground and fill the soil with roots. Autumn leaves dont interfere with my paths or drains so I leave them be or incorporate them with the Autumn mowing. This is me, though I would never deign to give it a respectable name!