I didn’t get to Chelsea this year but at least my friends at Strulch did!

Pressure of work and a prior engagement with Girls Aloud meant we weren’t able to visit Chelsea this year. We booked to see the Girls at Sheffield for my middle daughters birthday present not realising the clash of dates. Aw well, more of that later…..

I was able to keep abreast of what was going on however as my friends at Strulch – makers of the revolutionary mineralised mulch – had their product shown at the Flower Show for the first time, on the stand of their key stockist Harrod Horticultural.

Dr Geoff, the incredibly intelligent biologist Inventor, was at the Harrrod stand, on hand to explain in detail the unique features that make Strulch such a valuable resource for gardeners in the battle against water evaporation, weeds and pests such as slugs and snails. Geoff met a lot of people that had used Strulch and was blown over with the feedback he got.

Strulch is also effective in breaking down heavy clay soils, which is why I especially love it, having to contend with ground which is more slightly soily clay than clay soil, as I do. Because it has a neutral pH, it can be used throughout the garden so it means you don’t have to buy different mulches for different things.

It’s also an answer to the problem of water shortages in the garden. Being made from wheat straw treated with iron minerals, it has been proven to retain moisture in the soil so enabling water retention in herbaceous borders, raised beds, fruit and vegetable plots. The environmentally-friendly, sweet smelling brown mulch saves water by providing a barrier to evaporation, thus protecting the soil from drying out during periods of drought or low rainfall.

Strulch is lightweight and easy to apply around delicate seedlings in early spring yet is equally successful in promoting healthy growth in vegetables, herbs, seasonal fruits and a wide range of plants later in the season. It is also certified for use in organic growing systems so is wild-life – and pet – friendly.

You can pick up a 100 litre bag for around £6.99. It can be bought from major garden centres nationwide, from www.harrodhorticultural.com or direct from Strulch for larger quantities.

Right back to see how the duckling’s getting on (more of that later as well….).

Peter Van Zelst is the principal of innovative-internet-marketing.com, Online Marketing Specialists.

Rain, Rain, don’t go away, come again another day…..

What an amazing thing rain is!

All of a sudden my grass, which had previously thought it was the middle of August and apparently gone on holiday, has suddenly sprung into life and started to grow like there’s no tomorrow. Which is all good news for my composting efforts! I’ve just been looking at some fantastic new wooden composting bins to replace my rather tacky and very ugly black plastic ones. There’s a superb 470 litre wooden one which I really fancy but I may have to go for something a little cheaper, such as the Hazel box which costs less than £45.

Now that the lawn has got some moisture on it, I’m thinking about giving it a feed. The Wormcast Organic Lawn Reviver looks an excellent product, given the suffering my grass has had recently. I suppose I’ll also need to edge. My efforts with a strimmer, though highly entertaining, were not met with unanimous acclamation by Mrs VZ, who has informed me, in no uncertain terms that a better edge will be achieved by using an Edger. Ho hum..

Virtually all of our free time in April, including the entire Easter period was spent weeding and removing the curse of our garden, Bindweed, from the beds. The much needed rain, though bringing much joy to all of our plants is also bringing untold benefits to those pesky weeds. We used all of our composted mulch on a relatively small, OK TINY, area so now we need to buy in Mulch for the rest of it. Being unimpressed with woodchip & bark, we came across Strulch, an organic mineralised straw based Mulch, at our recent visit to Alnwick. Aside from it being eco-friendly, it also looks great (side by side with the other mulches in the Alnwick Gardens it’s head and shoulders above) and its only 6 quid a bag, which certainly makes it competitive compared to a lot of inferior products.

Also need to do something about those pesky slugs and snails which also come out in the rain. I thought this Slug and Snail Trapper was great, that’ll teach the blighters.

Ah, well, back to work for now.

Peter Van Zelst is the principal of innovative-internet-marketing.com, Online Marketing Specialists.