Astrid Vella thinks the Mdina mulchers are still following George Pullicino’s orders after 15 months of his being out of office
One of Astrid Vella’s Facebook friends is upset because the soil in the Mdina ditch hasn’t been mulched in to protect it from having the nutrients leached by the sun, saying that this is basic horticultural practice.
In fact it is not. The sun does not leach nutrients from the soil. The purpose of mulching is to put nutrients into the soil, to reduce the evaporation of moisture, and to prevent the growth of weeds. All of these use different things for mulching – e.g. to contain the growth of weeds you have to prevent light reaching the soil, so you cover it in wood-chips. To put nutrients into the soil, you mulch with manure. To prevent loss of moisture in hot weather, you can temporarily put down clear plastic (black plastic bags will prevent the light going through).
Astrid Vella’s immediate reaction is ‘what do you expect when we had an architect as Minister for the Environment and Agriculture!’ Aside from the fact that an architect is a much more appropriate person for the job that what we have at present in charge of MEPA, a lawyer who has been employed with Bank of Valletta for the last 30 years, or what we had immediately prior to that, a medical doctor, Mrs Vella really must let go of her obsession.
The people mulching or failing to mulch the Mdina ditch are not obeying George Pullicino’s orders because he has been out of office for the last 15 months.
Has she noticed that Labour is now running the show?
I was most amused when a man put in to point out to the ladies that the Mdina ditch is, in fact, mulched over. I am not on Facebook, so I couldn’t put in to point out that Mrs Vella probably hasn’t a clue what mulching is, otherwise she’d have seen it in the photograph. Ditto for her friend.
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I wonder how the sun actually kills life.
It is also the first time I have ever heard an avowed environmentalist fret about turf, which I might point out, whilst being aesthetically pleasing, is not really helping the environment in any way; in fact, it is a drain on water resources and is not indigenous.
She should actually be calling for its removal not its irrigation.
That’s Astrid for you: mulch ado about nothing.
Mulch ado about nothing?
A great way to reduce loss of moisture in hot weather is to cover the soil with about 1cm or more of unwanted paper (newspapers, A4 paper, shredded paper) and cover them with some soil. You can do the same with planters, big or small.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p57bah6GxNw
Ara maghquda kif kitibha:
http://www.tvm.com.mt/news/president-gdid-ghan-nazzjonijiet-maqghuda/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
Precisely, like Saviour Balzan and several others, they spent years – and are still – tearing the Nationalists to shreds and then they’re surprised Labour makes laws to grant permits for buildings outside the development zone; reinstitutes trapping in autumn; allows a free for all in spring for hunters and trappers; removes next March’s local council elections so that the hunting referendum is held on its own and tells its supporters to abstain… and they keep training their guns on the Nationalists.
Mulch ado about nothing.
Why did she fail to see the mulch? Because we have a squeaky toy running the FAA.
George Pullicino – L-uniku ex-Ministru li kapaċi jirrombla fuq il-gvern.
Nothing like a bit of reading and research to clear the mind before more fleeting statements get thrown around. Astrid, 19-day spring hunting loophole from PL and not a bleep from you! Tsk tsk, mulching is your current worry.
http://directory.distributeyourarticles.com/8a633d5aa036/what_is_inorganic_mulchij
Here’s another one whose silence can be bought. A Gieh ir-Repubblika did the trick (and maybe other dealings far away from the public eye).
Making some noise about Energy Performance Certificates and some other trivia is not much better than silence.
Astrid Vella doesn’t give a #@#@# about mulching. Her mission is to discredit the PN and anything done by the PN, certain ex-Ministers in particular. Note her instinctive reaction. Despite what’s looming for the environment in Malta, she’s elated at the present administration.
And would Ms Astrid Vella please ask her Labour friends why the fountain at the garden in Paola, commonly known as Il-Bandli, was destroyed and turned into a flower bed?
Perhaps Ms Lara Boffa can involve herself, seeing that the garden is called Gnien Pawlu Boffa.
She may even timidly ask why the plaque bearing the name Pawlu Boffa was removed long ago by the Labour-dominated local council and never replaced.
I know how she feels. My piles flared up this morning. I blame Gonzi.
Qas haqq studjajt ghall- perit u kont naqla l- b### waqt li l- avukati fuq il- campus kienu jilghaqu x- xemx!
Ah. Come on. She could have misread it for munching.
Thank you, George Pullicino, for the good you have done to our country.
So many are still jealous of you, including Her Excellency, Astrid Vella et alia.
If only Labour ministers work half as hard as George Pullicino did on actual projects which we can enjoy with our children, instead of trying to manipulate the press to write positive stories. We don’t want stories, but embellished open spaces where our children can run around.