I have a flower bed which I plant annual flowers. I put mulch on the
flowers. Each fall when the flowers dies, I dig the flowers into the soil,
and then dig my leaves into the soil. Does this mean my soil getters better
each year since nothing leaves the bed in the sense that I recycle the dead
flowers. Or am I missing some? The flowers or plants give off oxygen so does
some chemical get lost in the process.

Thanks

Tom

You are benefitting the soil by adding organic matter, yes. Better than
'mulch', which I take to mean shredded hardwood, is pure compost, or
shredded leaves, grass clipping, what have you from around your yard.

The other thing you can do is utilize a 'cover crop' in winter, such as wild
mustard, winter rye, clover, or other nitrogen-fixing plants that are tilled
under while still green in early spring.

Dave

"mary" wrote in message
...
I have a flower bed which I plant annual flowers. I put mulch on the
flowers. Each fall when the flowers dies, I dig the flowers into the soil,
and then dig my leaves into the soil. Does this mean my soil getters
better
each year since nothing leaves the bed in the sense that I recycle the
dead
flowers. Or am I missing some? The flowers or plants give off oxygen so
does
some chemical get lost in the process.

Thanks

Tom

Hi mary,

Each fall when the flowers dies, I dig the flowers into the soil,
and then dig my leaves into the soil. Does this mean my soil getters
better
each year since nothing leaves the bed in the sense that I recycle
the dead
flowers.

For me, I will not dig it into the soil, instead I let it cover the
soil as mulch. This will reduce the soil lost by wind or water
erosion.

The nutrient release by fast decomposition of till in organic matter,
will also lost due to no life form to take it up.

Regards,
Wong

--
Latitude: 06.10N Longitude: 102.17E Altitude: 5m

"mary" wrote in message ...
I have a flower bed which I plant annual flowers. I put mulch on the
flowers. Each fall when the flowers dies, I dig the flowers into the soil,
and then dig my leaves into the soil. Does this mean my soil getters better
each year since nothing leaves the bed in the sense that I recycle the dead
flowers. Or am I missing some? The flowers or plants give off oxygen so does
some chemical get lost in the process.

Thanks

Tom

This is about the best link I have every found about soil. Enjoy.
http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/soil_quali...gy_primer.html

On Tue, 25 May 2004 08:32:49 -0400, "mary"
wrote:

I have a flower bed which I plant annual flowers. I put mulch on the
flowers. Each fall when the flowers dies, I dig the flowers into the soil,
and then dig my leaves into the soil. Does this mean my soil getters better
each year since nothing leaves the bed in the sense that I recycle the dead
flowers. Or am I missing some? The flowers or plants give off oxygen so does
some chemical get lost in the process.

Thanks

Tom


It should improve. Additions of inorganic and especially organic
fertilizers will improve the soil. I add a couple heaping tablespoons
of composted cow manure to each transplant hole preparation and get
outstanding growth and color from my annuals. Turning the soil helps
too. Think about using a different annual in the same spot next year
(crop rotation), as not every plant uses the same minerals.

I have a flower bed, I plant annual flowers. I covered with flowers. Each fall when the flowers died, I dug into the soil of the flower, my leaves, and then dig into the soil. Does this mean that the soil of my go-getters better every year because there is no out of bed in the sense that I die cycle of flowers.