Bracken

Hi everyone,
Has anyone tried using green bracken as a mulch around acid loving plants? My garden is being invaded by bracken and I have some blueberry bushes which are not thriving. My soil is thin, gritty and poor so I wondered if I cut the bracken now and used it as a mulch around the fruit bushes it would help to increase the acidity level in the soil. My soil is slightly acidic. Should I chop the bracken. In the past I have just weed killer sprayed it but ill health for the last 2 years seems to have given the bracken the chance to increase 200%. I was hoping to slow dwon the bracken before it begins shedding this years spores.

 

They say composted Bracken was used as the base for potting compost during and after ww2 when supplies were scare.

Its typically composted before being used as a mulch and does increase the acidity, though not sure how effective it would be if used direct as a mulch ?
Chopping up into small pieces would be better direct or into the compost bin.

More info here -
Bracken / RHS Gardening

 

My guess is that it would just be a slower effect if used as a mulch although thats subjective as it depends how fast your compost heap works. Agree with @ricky101 that chopping it up would help speed up the process. Using a mulch would also help protect the soil from weathering, water loss and weed growth all of which will help your fruit bushes

 

We are also plagued with bracken, mainly on steep slopes where I struggle to get to it for physical removal. ( not keen to use chemicals)
I’m trying to chop it down where I can, before it gets a chance to set spores. It would be handy to use it for mulch, but any danger it would spread it to areas it hasn’t got to yet?

 

I'd be very wary about bracken during july-October as this is when it may have spores which can be carcinogenic and very nasty. I know they take a while to mature to a size where they will spore and I don't think it's every year but I'd read up on the potential health implications of using it. I would also be a little wary about cutting it and using it direct because I'm fairly sure it produces hydrogen cyanide to deter predation, so is best composted or left for a little while first.
It is famous for taking a very long time to decompose but I think that is from the brown material collected in the autumn. If you want to cut it I would do so early in the year and just keep on top of any regrowth. It should be fine to use as long as the spores haven't matured. I use the brown material to protect my plants in the winter and have never had any bracken pop up in the garden.

 

I wouldn't put it directly on as a mulch. Far better to chop up and compost it, even if it was done separately so that you had it for mulching.
However, it would need applied regularly, and quite heavily, if you were aiming to alter the pH, as that doesn't really work in open ground for any type of plant long term. Might be ok for pots.

Bracken gets to four and five feet in summer here. It's a PITA when you have to wade through it going uphills - especially after it's been wet!

 

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. Apparently my son in law used chopped bracken on a path in their garden but it apparently turned into a muddy bog with the wet winter weather but I think I might have a go at a heavy mulch. The blueberries are in a raised bed so contained, as opposed to being in an open bed.
My bracken is already around 5ft tall, still unfurling so hopefully the spores are not yet ripe.

 

I didn’t know that about the spores being nasty. I was just worried I would be helping to spread it! I don’t need to worry about creating acid soil, ours is pretty acid already. I shall just hack it down as soon as I can and dump it in the green bins.

 

It would never suit being used as path material. It's still a 'green' plant, despite it's toughness
It might do a reasonable job as it's a raised bed, as long as you had plenty of it to add. Blueberries don't really need any help here - stick 'em in the ground [as long as it's been well enough amended as it's clay] and let them get on with it, with maybe the odd mulch now and again, but if I had to use a raised bed or container, I'd make sure there was a mix of good, hefty soil, and ericaceous compost, with the odd feed suitable for that type of plant. Regular mulching, or soil addition, is always needed for containers too. A top dressing of bark is also good.
Rainwater is always better for them too, but if there's not enough, or collected water runs out, tap water is better than not watering at all. I expect you know that though

 

When I was prepping the fruit cage area I used to dig up small balls of pure white clay, left over from the clay mining nearby. The soil is miserable, no nutrients, gritty and either sodden or dusty.
I have tried top dressing and mulching but the blueberries do not thrive, whereas the raspberries just romp away, also the blackcurrants. The taste of a freshly picked blueberry is second to none, compared to shop bought excuses for them.
Having seen how they are grown in America, by the acres, my 4 bushes pale into insignificance, but a few surprise found berries, eaten warm in the sunshine is a treat indeed.