How I grow roses in a “no-spray” garden
{THIS POST WAS EDITED & REVISED IN 2023.}
While driving home from the Carolinas District ARS meeting back in 2016, Jesse and I had a laugh about how I, of all people, had to win the raffle drawing for the can of pesticides that they were giving away. Well, maybe Jesse had a laugh, but I was still utterly mortified. There I was, sitting in the back of the room trying to take in my very first ARS district meeting, quiet like a little mouse, when my number was called. Suddenly, all eyes on me, I had to speak out to a huge room full of surprised faces to please give that can to somebody else because I don’t spray my roses while inside I was praying for a giant hole to just open up beneath me so I could disappear.
A lot has changed since that day. We’ve moved a few more times and created some new gardens in very different conditions. I still don’t spray my roses but I’ve come close. I talk about that more below. I’ve revised and updated this post to reflect what I’ve learned but I still feel that having a diverse, healthy garden is the best way to prevent disease and insect pressures.
Rose Midge Update
Since this post was written in 2016, we have had 3 more gardens on 3 different properties with very unique growing conditions. It’s now 2023 and I think it’s time to revise this post and update all of you on what’s going on with our rose midge situation, too.
First of all, rose midge runs rampant in central Pennsylvania. While I did not have that problem in NC, that was only a temporary reprieve and since we’ve been back home, we’re faced, once again, with the devastating effects of having rose midge in our gardens.
Here’s what I have learned:
Nematodes do seem to help. Perhaps that’s my imagination, but at our last property, I noticed midge numbers declining slightly. This was certainly not a scientific experiment and there could have been any number of other factors that affected the midge. However, for a small investment I feel like it can’t hurt to try this. Beneficial nematodes are great at managing other pests, so they’re a win regardless.
In our climate, the midge do not emerge until after the first flush of blooms in the spring. So if you also live in a cold climate region and don’t want to bother laying down pesticides for rose midge, try growing once-blooming roses. (You’ll also avoid Japanese beetles eating your flowers if you grow only spring-blooming roses.)
The rose midge in our garden avoided the roses with pricklier stems and thicker peduncles (think rugosa roses.) Conversely, they went bananas for the roses that had soft new growth (think David Austin roses.)
Our new garden–begun in 2022–had a really bad rose year. Everything was new and tender and I hadn’t built up the soil or added nematodes yet. We barely had any blooms on our roses. We’re not against using pesticides when absolutely necessary–for example we’re having our old oak trees treated systemically this upcoming May for Spongey Moth. We were advised that at their age and based on the level of damage they’ve already sustained, another round of moth damage could kill them and I’m not going to allow that to happen to these beauties. I say this to let all of you kind readers know that I’m not against using methods such as these when it’s done carefully and when necessary.
As you can imagine, I’ve been thinking about this midge problem for months and reading and talking to a lot of other rose gardeners who use pesticides–asking about their methods–and I came, once again, to the conclusion that I can’t justify using the pesticides. I love having roses blooming in summer but, unlike our old oak trees, they don’t feel entirely necessary to our little ecosystem. I still want roses, though, so, moving forward, I’ve simply decided to plant once-bloomers, hybrid rugosas and suchlike so I can still have some flowers at least!
Let’s move on to the rest of my tips, shall we?
A typical compost delivery. It’s backbreaking work spreading it around, but ultimately so rewarding. It can also be frustratingly expensive and take years to build up the soil, I’ll be real with you, but I think of it like a savings account for our garden.
Making our own compost is one of the things we try to do to “close the loop” in our garden.
Using organic soil amendments vs synthetic fertilizers on the roses improves the soil
Healthy Soil
It starts with the soil. In my opinion, building healthy soil is the single most important thing you can do in your garden. To be honest, I don’t really care a fig about “perfect” looking flowers & leaves, tidy beds, weed-free lawns, etc but I am obsessive about really good soil. A healthy soil of course means healthier plants and they, in turn, have a better ability to fight off pests and disease. (Pests zero in on stressed, undernourished roses. I’m sure you’ve seen that happen.) So, in our garden: We never till. Every spring, I mulch with a thick layer of finished compost (like a fluffy duvet) and in the fall we chop up the autumn leaves and add that to the garden beds to break down over winter.
Plants with bird-enticing seeds
Berry-producing shrubs
Pollen and nectar-rich flowers
Native plants
Roses that provide “easy access” to pollen and nectar
Year-round sources of water for birds, insects, amphibians
A Diverse Garden
I love roses and I love visiting rose gardens, but between you and me, it bums me out to see a rose garden that’s just that–only roses. I realized a few years ago the thing that makes me most happy about gardening is witnessing the interaction of insects and birds and other animals that come to live there and feeling like I had a small part in making their lives a little better. In other words, we grow lots of roses but we’re trying to avoid a monoculture. All those extra things like including nectar and pollen rich flowers, planting berry-producing shrubs, leaving the seed heads on the perennials, keeping dead trees/snags, leaving those piles of leaves, putting in a birdbath or small pond, growing native plants, planting conifers and other evergreens–I could go on but you get the drift–these are all helping to create a diverse ecosystem in our garden. In turn, the birds, insects, amphibians, spiders, reptiles, etc that we are essentially providing habitat for will encourage checks and balances. In other words, rather than introducing pesticides, simply allow natural predators to do the work. This takes time, though, and it requires patience as populations build up.
Spiders, birds, toads, praying mantis, green lacewings, ladybird beetles, wheel bugs, blue-tailed skinks, dragonflies…we’re pleased as punch to see these in the garden.
Beneficials
Years ago, when we started putting together our garden in our first PA home, we had a problem with sawfly larvae. For a while, I was doing a lot of hand-picking. However, as we gradually made our garden more bird friendly, it wasn’t long before the song sparrows moved in, started raising broods, and I never had a problem with sawfly larvae again. In fact, I rarely saw them anymore. Same goes with Japanese beetles. Once the praying mantis and wheel bugs took up residence they were hardly noticeable. One spring, for some weird reason, we had this major infestation of aphids on our honeysuckle. I introduced some green lacewing larvae to the area and presto they were gone within days. The thing is, if you want these beneficials to stay and raise new generations, then give them what they need to thrive well into adulthood. For example: those green lacewing larvae grow into adults that need nectar and pollen producing flowers. Praying mantis and wheel bugs are shy and like places to hide. Hungry songbirds need hunting grounds with variety and appreciate a year-round supply of fresh water. Toads want a damp place to cozy up in and will avoid too much tidiness. Build up your garden to be a habitat for beneficials and I guess it also goes without saying that using pesticides all willy-nilly will destroy that natural balance.
PS: Free-ranging hens are fantastic for helping to control insects in your garden. 🙂
Rabbits and Deer
I love animals and I still get so tickled when I see bunnies and deer visit our yard but as you know they can cause a lot of damage. The doe who brought her fawns to our garden years ago at our NC home made quick work of our newly planted hedge of Arcata Pink Globe roses. The rabbits we had living in our garden at our first PA house had a particular fondness for the OGR’s. I’ve found some ways to live peaceably with both, but it does take a bit of work. For the deer, the only thing I have found that prevents them nibbling on the roses–besides building barriers–is Liquid Fence. It stinks to high heaven until it dries but it works and it is organic and biodegradable. The key here is regular applications. As for the rabbits, I learned a lot about peacefully coexisting (and even becoming friends) with the bunnies at our most recent PA home. I wrote a whole post about it HERE if you’re interested.
Father Hugo’s Rose & Apothecary’s Rose (top) are examples of OGR’s which bloom early and abundantly avoiding disease and pest pressures. Munstead Wood & Blanc Double de Coubert (bottom) are examples of a modern shrub rose that is fragrant, remontant and resistant to disease.
Right Rose, Right Place
It’s a weird myth that growing roses is difficult. Everyone’s garden is unique, but there are so many roses out there that are, on the whole, super easy to cultivate, and I’m not just talking about Knock Outs. I was having a discussion with another rose gardener recently and she was saying something about not wanting to grow OGR’s because most don’t repeat. I totally understand that point of view especially when space is limited, but one of the many nice things about them is that they bloom before disease and pest pressures really take hold. Someone at an ARS meeting I went to years ago brought up a good point, I think it was Lucas Jack, and that is, why grow “disease resistant” roses if you’re just going to spray them, anyways? Let them show you what they can do! You may have an occasional flare up of this or that with any of your roses, but if your soil is healthy and you’re giving it good cultivation, it will probably just outgrow any minor problems as it gets established.
So these are just some simple ways we’ve gardened which allow us to grow the roses we love while also encouraging a balanced ecosystem. There is always more to learn so if you’d like to share: Do you have a “no-spray” garden? Any tips for encouraging balance? Favorite disease resistant roses?
Thanks, wonderful post! I would love to do no spray (if do spray it’s safe for organic gardens) but BS is a huge problem in my garden in general, I think because it was neglected for so long before we moved in. I’d like to learn more of your favorite disease-resistant varieties besides the ones you listed. Many roses are listed as disease resistant but don’t seem to be in my garden! My Westerland is a champ (I suspect it might really be Autumn Sunset because it’s more yellow than orange) and even now the leaves are clean while every rose in my garden has BS (except for the rugosas, thank goodness).
Wow that’s good to know about Westerland aka Autumn Sunset. I’m always on the hunt for blackspot-resistant roses as it’s such a pain isn’t it? Once it gets going in the garden it’s really frustrating so I can totally relate. Ok so on that note, I put together a list of roses that never gave me much of a problem with blackspot. Of course everyone’s garden is different from one to the next but these might be ones for you to look into. As you mentioned, the rugosas are pretty much a safe bet, but I have found that Albas also are really great for disease resistance. Anywho, here is the list! It’s a long one! 😉
A Shropshire Lad
Rosa rugosa ‘Alba’
Apothecary’s Rose
Arcata Pink Globe
Baltimore Belle
Basye’s Purple
Belinda’s Dream
Bella Donna
Blanc Double de Coubert
Blanche de Belgique
Blush Noisette
Celestial
Celsiana
Centifolia Muscosa
Charles de Mills
Cornelia
Darcey Bussell
Darlow’s Enigma
Fantin-Latour
Félicité Parmentier
Flower Carpet Pink Supreme
Gartendirektor Otto Linne
The Generous Gardener
Georges Vibert
Ghislaine de Féligonde
Gourmet Popcorn
Grüss an Aachen
Henri Martin
Ispahan
Ivor’s Rose
James Galway
Jude the Obscure
Konigon von Danemark
La Mortola
Lady Banks (yellow)
Lady of Shalott
L’Ingenue
Madame Berkeley (in commerce as)
Madame Hardy
Madame Plantier
Marie Pavié
The Mayflower
Mrs Doreen Pike
Munstead Wood
Petite Lisette
Piñata
cl. Pinkie
Princess Alexandra of Kent
Réve d’Or
Roi des Aulnes
Rosa alba ‘Semi Plena’
Rosa Mundi
Rose de Rescht
Sally Holmes
Souvenir de Philélmon Cochet
Souvenir de la Malmaison
St Swithun
Stanwell Perpetual
Strawberry Hill
Sultane Favorite (the Portland)
Tuscany Superb
Zaide
I am so so so very excited because we’re finally moving to a house this spring and can have a garden, instead of trying to make a container garden in poor settings work! I’ve been doing *a lot* of reading on companion planting in the hopes that I can completely avoid spraying – firstly, because I’d like to intermix edibles with flowers (and am interested in perhaps candying rose petals and trying my hand at rose hip jam), and secondly because we’re expecting a tiny human and I don’t want to have to worry about them snacking on toxic plants (and let’s be honest, dirt). In the past I’ve gone with dish soap soap and neem oil and have been encouraged to use pesticides by our local DA stockist. I found Lady Emma Hamilton to be pretty disease resistant, but I also had a lot of midge issues with Abraham Darby, even when no one else in the front yard was suffering.
Oooh Jess if you end up doing the rose hip jam and candied petals please let me know how that goes. That’s been on my “must-try” list for ages! I’ve been eyeing up Lady Emma Hamilton so I am pleased to hear that you find her disease resistant. That’s strange about the midge on just your Abe Darby. Are you sure it’s midge? If it is, I cannot stress enough how important it is that you stay on top of that and don’t let them spread. I had those warning signs the first year and was like “ho hum I wonder what’s going on here…oh well” and then bam! by the next season it had spread like wildfire…too late. Not to be doom and gloom but gosh midge is a real PITA. More importantly, congratulations on the (soon) new baby! That’s so wonderful! 🙂
Yes, I’ve been researching the best rose hips, although I’m not sure if 1 season will give me enough. I’ll probably end up with one sad pot! But there are so many interesting looking recipes with roses (and other flowers), both for food and beauty, I think going all organic is a great reason to give them a try!
Thanks for the heads up! AD is in a pot by his lonesome and in quarantine from the others, so hopefully there won’t be any spreading! I’m going to bring him with us to the new house, but he needs a new pot as it is, so I’m hoping a total change of soil will help. Although truth be told, it may be easier to just chuck him and buy a new bare root this season (the idea of it makes me feel guilty but it’s so tempting!).
I’ve been researching best rose hips, too! I’m not supposed to be buying anymore roses (ha!) but I’m dying to get my paws on a species spinosissima like this one for those black hips. Yum. Good luck with your AD! I’m sure it will all work out! 🙂
Hi Laurie,
ANOTHER great post!!!! I just got my CR certificate last summer and it makes my heart sing to see more organic ARS members!!!!
Those sawfly larvae always attack my roses hard…am going to kick up the companion plants and bird features this year. Thank you for all the great tips. I feel like I should print out all your posts as my rose growing guide, there is always so much helpful information.
Happy Friday!
Thank you Holly!! That means so much to me that you liked this post especially since you are a CR…something I’ve been thinking about pursuing so I might have to pick your brain sometime. 😉 I’m so pleased you are enjoying these posts and hope you have a wonderful weekend! 😀
You may pick my brain anytime Laurie! I love being a CR! You know waaaay more than I do about roses…! You would be a great Consulting Rosarian!
My local society has gone organic…but many other local societies are still on the chems. I don’t really want to be an activist but “change only happens from within” and so I am hoping to help make ARS organic somehow.😬
That’s awesome that your local society has gone organic, wow!! I’m like you–I’m not trying to force my opinion on anyone, just show people a different way. Thank you for the encouragement about the CR program….I was really not sure but now I think I want to explore that option! 😀
So what did you do with the Bayer Can of Death?..Save it for a garden “elephant gift”; that would be my option. Great article. I must admit before I went to organic I spray my garden. Then I wonder my whole yard is infested with Japanese beetles, aphids, and etc. It seems like it was a non-ending war against them. Then I wise up and did some research. Apparently I was killing the good bugs and the bad bugs. I didn’t know what they look like when they were babies. What an idiot! So now my yard is a “spray free zone”.. It took a couple of years but I believe my garden is healthy again. I only notice 2 Japanese beetles in my garden and got rid of them immediately. I have Claire Austen, Darcy Brussel, Golden Celebration, and Scepter Isle roses. I do get the occasional black and spots and midges but that doesn’t bother me anymore. I plan to get several Munstead Wood roses because you were raving about them. Have you ever grown Bonica or Modren Blush roses? I read they are disease resistant and grows on their own roots. They both sound promising. I have seen pictures of Modren Blush flourishing in Chicago area. It was gorgeous.
I never took it! Thankfully they ended up giving the can to someone else. Gosh, I felt like such a fish out of water. Anywayyyss…I love your success story of changing your garden over to a spray free zone. Hooray! That’s wonderful. 😀
Yes, Munstead is a great rose! Sort of embarrassed that I talk about it too much. 😉 Just a warning it is quite thorny and by “quite” I mean those canes are positively medieval. Yes I’ve grown Bonica–a photo of ours in this post–and she would definitely be one I’d put back in if just for the hips. Blackspot resistance was sort of meh. Don’t have Morden Blush. It’s a gorgeous rose but the disease resistant information on HMF is contradictory so I’ve been avoiding it. That’s good to know it does well in the Chicago area! 🙂
Laurie, such an interesting and informative post. Your pile of compost is more beautiful to me than jewels! I don’t spray either, and am grateful for the list you gave Jen. I’m increasing my roses by about double .. hallelujah .. because of the new deer fence. Good-bye Liquid Fence, forever. Stinky doesn’t even come close. I absolutely do miss the wild turkeys, lamas, peacocks and others who wandered in. Sometimes even a moose. I won’t miss him. Seeing your companion plants is always helpful. The roses overwintering in my garage, as per your instructions, are doing nicely, even putting on new growth. So grateful for your help.
Hooray for a new deer fence! That probably just opened up tons of new options for you that didn’t exist before. I can’t believe you had so many different kinds of animals wandering in. A MOOSE?? That’s nuts. Glad to hear your roses are doing well. Keep an eye on those temps outdoors vs temps in your garage. You don’t want those roses kept in the garage to be brought outside in the cold with all that brand new growth. It’s a balancing act but you’ll get the hang of it! 😀
Thanks, Laurie. I’ll harden them off if needed. The garage is unheated, and the new growth is tiny. Keeping my fingers crossed. Yeah, the moose chased my husband one year when he was outside putting up Christmas lights. He (husband) scaled the porch railing and found that the door had locked behind him. Wish I had that on tape! The peacocks visited when I played the piano and sat by the window and swayed. The lama followed us around like a puppy for a few days then disappeared. 🙂
I still can’t believe the moose story. I told my husband and he was like, are you kidding me?! Crazy. I love that you had peacocks, too. They were drawn to your music!
Great post. I have a no spray garden as well – in my local rose society everyone thinks I’m crazy. We live near the shores of Lake Michigan and it’s black spot alley. Last year I had to shovel prune several David Austin roses because they just were not happy in my neck of the woods, even though others reported no problems with blackspot. Rust is not an issue with our area, but blackspot is terrible in our little microclimate with the Lake.
I wanted to ask if you could share a little bit of your experience with Abraham Darby. I re-read your previous post about that rose. I have a spot that would be perfect for it, but I’m worried about the level of blackspot this rose struggles with from what I’ve read. Would you grow Abraham Darby again in a no spray garden? Also curious about the growth habit of this rose. Thanks for your time!
Hi Cole! Always so nice when you pop by. Did I tell you I am putting in that boxwood order to one of the places you recommended? Thanks again for the tip. 🙂
Interesting how you said you feel like everyone thinks you’re crazy at your local society. That was one of the reasons I resisted joining ARS in the first place. It seemed like the culture of using pesticides, chemical fertilizers etc was too prevalent. Like Holly said in the comment below, it’s so wonderful to meet other members who are growing roses organically, and yes sometimes you have to remove the ones that don’t like your climate. It stinks but there are always so many more to try! So, about Abe Darby, no I wouldn’t grow him if you have a problem with blackspot in your area. As you know, I love that rose, but it gets pretty spotty by the end of the season. It’s something I lived with and fussed over (picking off and cleaning up all those leaves) and I had an easier time cultivating it, i.e. spoiling it, because I had it in a container. The growth habit–lax with heavy, nodding flowers, made putting it in a container the best option to enjoy it. Still…might be too much work. Do you have Lady of Shalott? Not quite the same coloring but much better disease resistance. Hope this helps! 😀
Glad to hear you’ll be getting your boxwood! Looking forward to seeing your new garden take shape. I wanted to ask if you have grown Jubilee Celebration? How is blackspot resistance with this rose? I would love to know your experience with this rose if you’ve grown it – thanks!
I actually just got that rose last autumn! I purchased own-root so it may go either way with this rose…you know how that goes with own-root Austin’s. I’ll let you know!
Thanks!
Another reason I love this site. I do not use herbicide, pesticide, nor chemical fertilizer. Most of my roses are OGRs so no issues other than aphids which I just pick off, brush off. Time consuming yes but I think of it as opportunity to spend more time with my roses. Souvenir de la Malmaison is an OGR that grows from May to Oct in my garden. It is very fragrant, gorgeous, enchanting. My favorite. Very easy to grow.
I SOOO agree with you about the time spent with roses. I don’t mind doing basic maintenance like that because otherwise I would just be standing there staring at them and that would be weird. ? At least knocking off nasty bugs gives me an excuse to be there. 😉 Oh and thank you for sharing your favorite. I used to have SdlM in our old garden and then when I tried to bring it with us, it died. grrr. It really is a beauty!
Awesome post! We’re trying to build up a good compost supply, but we might have to build some more pens as our regular black bin is overflowing (an embarrassment of riches).
I’m interested about the chickens– my husband is always after me to get one, and I love the idea, but we only have .4 of an acre. All I can see is chicken poop everywhere! Would love a post on how you guys managed your past chicken(s) and how you’d plan to do it this time.
I would looovvveee an overflowing compost bin right now. OK, if that wasn’t one of the nerdiest statements? Haha!
Chickens: get them!! Seriously, they are such fun and so rewarding. I only ever had one and she was like our pet–her name was Higglety Pigglety and she was an Aracauna. We were living in a suburban neighborhood at the time on .25 acre and she had her own coop which was basically a converted shed. At first, I clipped her wings so she wouldn’t fly away but then I didn’t bother because she never really left our yard. We had an egg a day except during winter when she took a couple months off. Every morning, she would let herself out of her coop and come to our front door and tap-tap-tap until I opened it and brought her grapes which she would eat on our porch before getting to her gardening duties. 😉 That was years and years ago but I still miss her which is why my husband and I are so thrilled that we can finally have chickens again. The only thing that’s stopping us from running right out to get them is that now we live in a very nature-y neighborhood with lots of predators and “free ranging” in our yard isn’t allowed by our township. Soooo, we need to make sure that the enclosure we build is large enough and safe enough to keep them happy. If you’re curious, this is the coop we want to build. I apologize for that long-winded answer btw! 🙂
Whoa, that is the Ritz-Carlton of chicken coops!! Maybe I’ll tell my husband that we can raise chickens if he builds something like that. 😉 We were looking at Aracaunas as a first breed. You may have swayed me…
We don’t have a fenced yard, just surrounding woods. I’ve seen foxes nearby, so we’d probably have to fence in the coop as well. Did you find that your hen ate any of your garden seedlings? I’ve heard mixed reviews about having them in your garden– but seems like an ideal mix to me! I get vegetables, they get bugs.
And haha, I’m a total nerd for compost. This is our first year doing it, and we learned a lot. It took most of the year for the heap to get hot and start decomposing. At the end, though, it really took off. We’re going to use it as a top dressing for the raised beds (which we haven’t built yet). You know, after I plant the blueberry bushes and everything else. So much work when you inherit a new garden. You know where I’m coming from there ! 😉
Yes I know EXACTLY where you’re coming from! It’s so much work, but also so rewarding. That’s so great that you have had success with your compost pile. We haven’t set one up here yet because we have bears so we’re still trying to figure out how to make that work. Yikes. As for the hen eating the seedlings, I never noticed that problem with ours, but again we only had the one and I imagine it does vary from breed to breed. She did occasionally scratch the mulch away from the plants but was never too destructive. Have you visited Backyard Chickens? Lots of info to be found there! 🙂
What a funny story – and a really wonderful post. If we didn’t know how to do it before, we do now. I agree completely about the garden that is diversified. It’s such a joy to watch butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds all coming to the same garden together. Harmony!
Yes, harmony! 🙂
Hi Laurie,
Just one more comment, well question really, do you keep your rose beds clean of all debris? Or do you allow the roses leaves that may have black spot or rust fall to the ground ant stay there? I am on the fence about this…on the one hand, “they” say that leaving the leaves can spread the diseases but in nature, leaves fall to the ground all the time. Just curious what your practice is…
Thanks so much and cannot wait for your next blog post!
Best,
Holly
Hi Holly, yes I clean up the dropped leaves–especially if they’re diseased–and discard them in the trash, not the compost. You can also make sure the area around the rose is mulched to help prevent spores from splashing back up onto the plant when it rains. If I find I’m doing this a lot with a particular rose, like if it’s prone to blackspot and drops leaves heavily, I consider getting rid of it. Too much bother! In the spring, I do another quick tidy up before adding a layer of compost. This was a great question! 🙂
Thanks Laurie! I try to get them up but sometimes it can be overwhelming!
I also learned from a great rosarian friend of mine, Jeri Jennings, that sometimes, a young rose will get rust but eventually grow out of it…so now I try to wait and give it a couple of years first and/or change locations before I give it away.
: )
Sounds like great advice! 🙂
This is a post to be book marked for sure! You (your posts) have been one of the most influential people in keeping my gardening style as pure as possible. Love learning more from you! And your pictures are amazing…
Also, thanks for the great list of roses in your comments!
PS. Love the chicken story and that you guys are considering bees.
You are so kind! Yes, we are considering bees…but gosh, it’s a lot of prep work when you live in an area that gets bears. Yikes! So we may not get to them this spring, we’ll see. Thank you so much for your comments! 😀
Thank you both for your great rose content and beautiful pictures. I am struggling with building my soil as I am on a tight budget and 71. I took on my backyard alone and my problem is huge rocks all over my yard. It is so hard to create beds but I just put peat compost etc down and gather rocks as the boarders and lay cardboard down with dirt over it and leaves and wait a few months and I have a start at a new rose area. It is hard and now I need right shoulder rotar cuff tear surgery but you encourage me on. Yes I live in zone 9a hot hot CA summers. Ugh.
Jenny, I can SO relate! We have been struggling to remove all the rocks and build up the soil here at our new garden in PA. It’s so much back-breaking work and at 50 I can’t do the things I used to without needing to lay flat for hours afterward. 😉
Thank you so much for being here and sharing your experiences!
This is such a helpful post! I’ve never bought compost by the trailer. Is there anything I should look out for or ask about before buying it or anything to avoid?
Yay so glad it was helpful! 🙂
So, what I get is a blend of mushroom compost, sawdust, top soil and composted horse manure. I have found that the addition of composted horse manure in this compost blend really makes my plants grow fast (all that Nitrogen) which is partly why I like to apply it in the spring. Of course, we also compost our own plant and kitchen waste but I still get deliveries because I need more than I can make. Plus, it makes a great mulch! You may also want to check to see if your town has a green waste program where you can get compost for free, which is always nice!