Use mulch, not muscles to turn soil

Gardeners can save themselves back-breaking work by preparing their soil with organic mulch, it has been claimed.

Using a spade to turn the soil is part of the "common wisdom" of gardening and can be a lot of effort, the Bristol Evening Post reports.

However, replacing this process with a layer of mulch can do the job just as well.

"Nature adds to soil quality by mulching it with leaves and other dead organic matter and the structure develops through the precious labour of earthworms," the article claimed.

It went on to argue the more worms there are at work in an area of earth, the better the plants will be that grow in it.

Mulching is a "gentler" way to improve soil and removes all the pain, the newspaper concluded.

Preparing the land in which plants are to be grown is the absolute key to gardening success, Norman Winter wrote in the Kansas City Star earlier this mont