Archive Tip of the Week
TIP OF THE MONTH
September 2009
Become a Fluffer!
Okay, so the word fluffer may be new to some of you, or for others it may have a meaning altogether different from the one I’m about to describe (shame on you), but so be it. The fact remains that every gardener should become a fluffer.
And just what is a fluffer? Well, it’s someone who fluffs, of course. Specifically, it’s someone who fluffs organic mulch (particularly wood mulch) now and then, ideally with a metal rake, to loosen it up. And why should one fluff? Because over time, mulch gets compacted, especially if you walk on it a lot or when the sun bakes down on it for weeks on end. As a result, water and oxygen have a tough time reaching the root zone of plant, and that’s bad.
Fluffing is simple enough. You just draw a metal rake back and forth over the mulch a few times, getting all the way down to the point where the mulch and soil meet, and then smooth the mulch out a bit. It’s an incredibly simple task, but one that should be done routinely, say at the beginning of each season.
Another benefit of fluffing is that it brings back the original color of wood mulches, at least to some extent. And of course fluffing is good exercise.
And by the way, don’t feel badly if you haven’t heard the word fluffer used before, at least within in the context of gardening. You see I actually invented it. And if, years from now, I’m only remembered for one contribution to the world of gardening, let it be known that I was the original fluffer.
