Equigrow Fertile Mulch 40L - Natural Garden Mulch with Horse Manure, Peat Free

Equigrow Fertile Mulch – 40 Litres

Fertile Mulch is horse manure and wood shavings, composted and bagged, and nothing else — no peat and, in Equigrow's own words, no chemical nasties. The shavings are what make it a mulch rather than a soil conditioner: they break down more slowly than straw, so the layer sits on the surface and holds together instead of disappearing into the bed in a season.

It goes on as a surface layer over beds and borders, suppressing weeds and holding moisture in while it slowly releases nutrients downwards. Equigrow say it can be used all year round, and that it is most worth doing when the soil is exposed and drying out — most gardeners put it down in spring, and some again in late autumn.

Performance & Benefits

• Horse manure and wood shavings only. No peat and no chemicals.
• Wood shavings break down more slowly than straw, giving a denser layer that stays put as a mulch.
• Suppresses weeds and holds moisture in the soil beneath.
• Releases minerals and nutrients into the soil slowly as it breaks down.
• Darker than bark chip, so beds look finished rather than orange.
• 100% natural and peat-free.

Suitable For

• Flower beds and borders needing weed suppression and moisture retention.
• Gardeners wanting a natural alternative to bark chip.
• Year-round use, with spring and late autumn the usual times.
• Allotments and general garden use.
• Not a potting compost or a growing medium — this is a surface mulch, and Equigrow's Real Farmyard Manure is the soil improver in their range.

How to Use

• Drop small amounts between plants, then spread it out around and under them to cover the bed.
• Avoid heaping it up against the trunks and stems of plants.
• Apply when the soil is exposed and drying out; spring and late autumn are the usual times.
• Equigrow publish no coverage figure per bag and no composting period, so none is stated here.

Specification

• 40 litre bag.
• Composition: horse manure and wood shavings. No peat, no chemical additives.
• Equigrow also supply it as 10 x 40L, 30 x 40L on a small pallet, 50 x 40L on a full pallet, and as a 900 litre dumpy bag.
• Coverage of about one square metre per 40L bag and a six-month composting period appear on some listings, including this one previously. Equigrow publish neither figure, so neither is confirmed here.

Care & Caution

• Equigrow state that despite their screening, very occasionally a foreign object slips through. Wear gloves when handling and spreading it.