Interbay Mulch ?

13 years ago

I have put in about 240 square feet of beds using interbay mulch techniques. This is my first try. Over half the beds are new beds I plan to use no-till. All are covered in double layer burlap. Can I / should I leave the burlap in place as on organic weed barrier when I plant and mulch over them? The tutorial in FAQ seemed a little unclear on the issue. Seems like I could / should to me. 1 layer or 2? Or should I pull the bags and dry and store for next year. I aquired the burlapbags free and all bags are from food grade certified organic shadegrown green coffeebeans. Any advice and thoughts are appreciated Thanks Pete

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Comments (7)

Kimmsr
13 years ago
As I recall way back when Jon Rowley wrote about the Interbay composting method here, it was another way to compost and make a material that could be used as a mulch rather then a mulching method itself. The purpose of the burlap is to aid in moisture retention which seemed to aid in speeding up the digestion of the material to compost. As I recall the finished compost was moved from where it was digested to were the community gardeners had their plots.
kqcrna
13 years ago
I've done a few interbay mulch beds and it worked well. I removed the burlap before planting, though. I don't know how effective a weed block it would be, probably depends on how tight or how open a weave that burlap is. The weave can vary a lot.

I saved the burlap for future use. I used them a few times before my husband threw them away.

Karen
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.. Seems to me Kimmsr has a point. You gotta get the mix right. Can't ignore Lloyd though. A smaller volume makes everything harder vis-a-vis hot composting. In a smaller volume the mix is going to be more critical. I just assembled a bin for the first time without grass clippings. Just leaves and chipped sticks. 17 cu ft. Got 150 F for a very short while then 140 F for a day or so and then 130 F for another couple of days then into the 120s. Turned if after week adding grass clippings. Got a couple of days of 140 F and 130 F for the rest of the week. Just turned it again tonight in the rain. We'll see. I would expect the given mixture in a 1 cu yd to do something similar. I think the small size just hindered things some. I haven't worked with straw but something tells me it's made to be rot resistant. That tells me it will compost slowly. Couple Lloyd's experience with an observation supporting our fears plus the small volume and I think things are just going to go slower. Not a major disaster. It'll rot. Just not as fast nor as hot. to sense ..
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Yes, you have it right. You don't have to cut up the kitchen waste, but if you do things "cook" faster. Same with leaves or shredded paper, the more shredded, the faster they compost fully. Not a problem if you don't have a bin. Try to keep the stuff piled up because it will heat up better, but even in a large flat pile on the ground, all things will compost over time. It would just take longer. If you have only one pile, it is a bit harder to get to your finished compost, in my experience, because you are constantly adding chunks of raw material and if you mix things weekly, you will always have tiny bits of finished compost mixed with big chunks. If you don't turn it, then usually the stuff at the bottom is composted and the stuff at the top is the most 'raw' or chunky. I used to do it this way in south Louisiana, where things composted quickly in the heat and humidity, and i would just shovel from the bottom as needed. Now if you are only adding very small pieces of organic matter (all shredded up or cut up) you won't mind having some old and new material when you use it. I am now doing several bins, and once one bin is full, I just leave it to compost (it shrinks in size as it goes) and start adding the raw material to a new bin. Hope this helps you but you have the right idea already.
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Jon Rowley would be able to answer that better than anyone, but he has not been here for a number of years although he is still actively gardening in Seattle. Simply because the carpet is made of synthetic fibers, unless it is an antique Persian carpet, it should not even be considered for use in your garden.
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I saw burlap at JoAnn's the other day. There was also a coupon for 1/2 off for a few days, starting today I think?? I just filled a new raised bed with a mix involving quite a bit of horse manure. To try to make it less offensive to my neighbors (that load was a little too fresh for neighborhood living), I covered it with straw, then stapled a piece of landscape fabric over the top (I had some left from a project a few years ago). Then I ran chicken wire (had a bunch of that laying around too) over the top of that to keep it from blowing away. Of course, in a couple days, the pile had shrunk down so my fabric & wire were loose, but it still looked "neater" that way, and my straw didn't blow away. Of course, the landscape fabric won't decompose like the burlap, but in my case, it keeps it cleaner looking, and I already had it. I'm still new to the neighborhood, and so far my next door neighbors have been supportive of my gardening projects. I try to keep things looking neat. Now, when I do this to my front yard/lawn, I guess we'll find out about some of the other neighbors...
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mendopete
Original Author
13 years ago
Today I noticed a blade of grass coming through in a bed with a single layer of burlap. I guess it would be better to hose-off, dry and store.
gjcore
13 years ago
I think if you want to stick to the "interbay method" then leave them on until springtime at least. Supposedly the burlap protects earthworms. Every situation is different but you might want to leave some in place for a longer time. I could definitely see it helping to suppress weeds for a few years.

I've been looking around some for burlap locally without much success. Home Depot had some but it looked like a loose material.
annpat
13 years ago
What are you planting? If perennials, I'd definitely leave the burlap on. And mulch over it.
mendopete
Original Author
13 years ago
gicore, I will definitely leave the burlap down at least until planting. Try and find a coffee compony that roasts and grinds, not just a supplier. You also may try feed stores but many of their bags seem to be plastic nowdays. annpat, I will plant annuals, perrenials, and some vegetables. I am curious of why would you leave it down with perrenials only? I would assume it all would decompose by next year anyway.
annpat
13 years ago
I was thinking that it might not decompose by next year. I thought it might be a problem with direct seeding rows next year, although I do use a thick newspaper mulch on my direct seeding rows, which sometimes doesn't decompose.

Interbay Mulch ?

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Interbay Mulch ?

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