Cork Farming

Using the wine corks as mulch for container plants has worked out pretty well for us (see: "Showing Our Dedication To A Noble Cause" ), but what do you do when you don't have enough corks or can't drink the wine fast enough to accumulate all the corks you need?

Why, of course you plant a cork farm and grow your own corks!  

Corks Up!

Actually, Cindy had intended to use these corks to support some shade cloth to keep the emerging vegetable plants safe from bugs and other veggie predators, such as the California Towhee or the Lesser Goldfinches, who like to nosh on our plants.

She had to quit for the day before she was able finish, but left the corks in place with the shade cloth over the top of the anti-varmint panels.  

 It's more fun to think of it as a cork farm, though.  

Showing Our Dedication To A Noble Cause

Wine Cork Mulch

Cindy decided to use our extensive collection of old wine corks as mulch under the three citrus plants in the pots in the driveway.  They make a good mulch because they keep the moisture in but don't absorb the water that the plant underneath needs, they don't degrade, and they don't pick up the dirt from the pot.

Also, they can easily be moved aside when it's time to add more fertilizer or to repot the plant.  And, of course, it's a great way to recycle the corks.

The problem was that we had enough wine corks for the three citrus pots, but not enough for the three blueberry bushes, too.

So, clearly, we need to buckle down and accumulate more wine corks.  A lot more wine corks.

It's a mission we'll be glad to accept.



* By "noble cause" I meant recycling the corks, of course.