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Vegetable Gardening

How about mulching your plants==what to use?

barb_roselover_in

15 years ago

I need some help in deciding how to take care of my vegetable garden. Can't depend on hubby this year-his health simply won't permit. I just can't keep ahead of the weeds. Do any of you mulch your plants? I can't run the big tiller any more either, and besides, I have read that it is better not to till because it brings more weed seeds to the surface. Can any of you smart vegetable gardeners give me some help with this problem? I do enjoy my garden and we have already cut the size in half. Thank you so much. - Barb

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Comments (4)

kayhh
15 years ago
Hi Barb. Yes, lots of us mulch. Common materials include lawn clippings, straw, and woodchips. Personally, I use all lawn clippings becuase I like that they break down by the next spring so I can add my chicken poop on top at the end of the season without pulling back the mulch. Some recommend putting down wet newspaper or cardboard under the mulch. I have narrow beds and use intensive plant spacing, so this doesn't work for me. But I have used it successfully when I planted in rows.

You can do a search on this forum for mulch and you will find a lot of discussion on the matter. Kay.
dan4279
15 years ago
I use grass clippings also. They've worked well for me.
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I have same questions as nandina, as in, what do you do in that area and why? Could stepstones allow you to avoid smooshing a groundcover? Mulching can make it look nicer and more orderly, and has benefits + drawbacks. If you add thin layers over time, the soil will improve and you will start to grow stuff. The heavier the shade, the less concern because weeds don't like that as much, but if you mulch a large area, then over time it will grow oak seedlings and other things that may not have germinated previously in the disaster zone. Of course, with improved soil over time you might then also be able to establish a nice groundcover and pockets of hostas under the tree (if you control traffic). Same for leaf removal--you'll need to think about how your leaves and mulch will intertwine, or not, so choice of mulch may be different for someone who has to blow leaves off vs. not. So you will get to see over time if the area is improved and less maintenence, improved with manageable ongoing maintenance, or is a maintenance disaster. This is not to deter you, but just points out that there are often action-reaction things that occur when you change the growing conditions. Hey, that's gardening!
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To know just what they mean by what one bag will cover you need to know the depth they applied it. If your mulch is meant to help control "weeds" it needs to be a minimum of 3 inches and preferably 4 to 6 inches thick, unless you have some newspaper or cardboard to supplement that. At 2 inches you definately will need some other barrier under the mulch for it to be effective.
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Whatever you do - don't plant English Ivy. The house that was recently built next door, had an old concrete slab piece wall - about 60+ years old that had to be removed with a bulldoser, before they could put up the wall. It took out my apricot tree, not to mention un-earthing a lot of awful sub-soil. But at least the ivy is gone. The old wall also supported a ground cover - which I'm rather fond of. It is quite common, but a good solution to hold banks, and such. The nice part is - it attracts bees and is easy to pull up in unwanted places. It is Aptenia (mesembryanthemum cordifolium) - has a small succulent type leaf and either red or white flowers. It can withstand heat and drought very well. I use it a lot around my fruit trees to act as a cool mulch. It probably would be best planted on top of the wall, and allowed to hang over, rather than grow up. I loved the pictures - is Protea hard to grow or need any special soil/care? Tearing out my front lawn sounds like a good idea - (my water bill doubled recently - drat!) Bejay
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mariabee
15 years ago
Since I own a used bookstore, I have no shortage of unwanted books around. Last year I started putting them in my garden. First I leave them out in the rain for a while, then they tear apart easily. The first layer next to the soil is manure, if I have it. Then a layer of books, then a natural mulch on top that will hold it down and give a better appearance. I use leaves and grass clippings from my yard. I open up large cardboard boxes for the permanent path. Some of the paths have carpet that I picked up free when the library replaced it. It sounds strange, but it doesn't look bad at all. The paths get to be hard packed, but the large bed areas get softer and softer. The worms are ecstatic under their paper layer, real book worms! With their help down there cultivating and contributing their castings, the soil improves so much. You could never get that from tilling.
digdirt2
15 years ago
Mulch is not only a great time-saver when comes to controlling weeds but it also helps stabilize the moisture levels in the soil and so cuts back on watering and feeds the plants as it decomposes. But the best benefit I think is the soil improvement you get from it as it decomposes - assuming you use one of the many great organic materials available.

I use old hay, mostly because we have lots of it. Grass clippings - I could never get enough of those myself - but if you have them, use them. Straw is often mentioned in the discussions over on the Soil & Mulch forum here as the perfect mulch.

I linked one recent discussion on lots of muches below and be sure to check out the Soil & Mulch forum here too for even more ideas.

Naked soil should never be allowed in the garden. ;)

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: What kind of mulch do you use...discussion

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