Which mulch to use in my garden?
Neal Rich
3 years ago
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can I use thatch and dead weeds to mulch my new garden beds?
Comments (4)homer - I was thinking about using cardboard or newspaper. But my problem is, I'd need an awful lot of it. The area wasn't mowed at all last year, so I have a pretty thick layer of dead grass and weeds. So I thought that might be the easiest thing for me to use. It's already there, and it's free. And I'm thinking the deer probably ate a lot of the seed, since they graze there regularly. Although, it may just go in one end, and out the other:) I thought about straw too. But again, I'd need a lot to make a thick mulch. If I can just get by this year with an acceptable mulch, I can try something better for next year. Like maybe a cover crop. I don't know much about cover crops, but I think it would work. Except I think it needs to be done in the fall....See MoreType of mulch to use for vegetable garden
Comments (14)I so agree with jimster about using what one has! I have mulched in different ways, ground up leaves and clippings (the brown layer that I also use in my compost) are good. If I had pine needles i would use them too, since some beds need to be kept acidic - blueberries for one. In any case, this year i am doing something different, but not so different. Leaves are leaves....right? so I am using a whole bunch of chopped up oregano and mint. Both have gone rampant and needed to be severely 'harvested'. They filled up two large baskets so far, i got most of my tomatoes mulched with these chopped up herbs. When they are in the ground growing oreganos act as living mulch and nicely protect crops from many insects, it worked wonderfully with the collards and cauliflowers. Mint detracts several insects and also ants. Even if I just keep my dogs and squirrels away that is good! Not sure it will act to deter bad insect pests, but it should work as any mulch would, and I have lots of it. Use what you have, why not?...See MoreWhich to use...5-Way or Yard Debris Mulch
Comments (1)Where do you live? What are the ingredients in 5-way mix? What are the ingredients if yard debris mulch? What is the idea behind using either one of those materials? What kind of grasses are you sodding and seeding? Can you wait to seed until fall? Can you surface the soil without bringing in more? I've seen far too many lawns built up over the years. One I took pictures of last year is 8 inches above the level of the concrete out by the curb. The soil and grass have completely grown over the sidewalk in another spot. I'm not a fan of "a little topdressing" when it is soil or sand being used. My suggestion is to loosen the soil at the surface with a hand tool or drag (for larger areas). A drag is something that has spikes pointing down. You can put a little weight on it and all it does is scratch the surface. If you scratch the surface at the high spots and sweep that loose soil to the low spots, you can sometimes get it pretty level....See MoreAnyone use white clover for a living vegie garden mulch?
Comments (20)TO: ubro FROM: Eric Koperek = erickoperek@gmail.com SUBJECT: Living Mulches for Orchards DATE: PM 6:15 Thursday 4 February 2016 TEXT: I recommend multiple species cover crops for both orchards and vineyards. Wide biodiversity is necessary to control insect pests. When I was a child, we sowed our apple orchards with buckwheat, turnips, and hairy vetch = winter vetch. This provided many flowers that supported beneficial predators and parasites. Translation: The good bugs ate the bad bugs. Rule: Plant small flowers to encourage beneficial insects. The good bugs have small mouth parts so planting big flowers does not work. Any plant in the Carrot Family = Dill, Fennel, Caraway, Coriander is a good choice. Lacy phacelia, mustard, tansy, feverfew, and clovers also produce abundant pollen and nectar that are easy for beneficial insects to reach. I like to include 1 / 16th part = 6.25% by weight of assorted perennial wildflowers in my cover crop mixtures. Annuals also work if they reseed freely = abundantly. Wildflowers encourage large populations of beneficial insects. As an added benefit, wildflowers also attract customers. Don't forget to include weeds in your orchard. Weeds provide food, shelter, and alternate hosts for beneficial insects. The idea is to keep a resident population of good bugs waiting for the bad bugs to arrive. Growing fruit trees in weeds can nearly eliminate many insect pests. Mow the orchard once yearly or only when trees are ready for harvest. I recommend planting fully dwarf fruit trees. Short trees are much easier to care for and harvest. Note: Do not fertilize dwarf fruit trees. Do not use any soil amendments. Just dig a hole in whatever soil you have and stick the tree in. (Make sure that the graft line is well above the soil surface). Good soil will make dwarf trees grow much taller which is a waste of money. As long as the trees grow 6 to 8 inches yearly, they are getting enough nutrients from the soil. Don't try to help them along or you will be sorry. Over-fertilized trees attract insect pests. Remember to water and mulch your trees. Apply mulch from the trunk to the drip line = the tip of the farthest branch. Use leaves, straw, hay, weeds, wood chips, hedge trimmings, grass clippings, any kind of organic matter will do. Apply mulch not less than 8 inches thick. If you don't have any mulch or if mulch is too expensive, plant mixed cover crops under the trees. Water is more important than fertilizer. As long as you have water, you can grow all the fertilizer you need. (This is why you should include a mixture of legumes in your cover crops). Note: If you space your trees widely, then you can plant row or hay crops between the trees. This will provide income while your trees are growing. We like to plant about 40 different species of trees, shrubs, and vines per acre. Broad genetic diversity greatly reduces insect pests and economic risk of crop failures. Don't plant anything you can't sell. Biodiversity does not pay unless every plant produces a cash crop. We run chickens in our orchards to control insect pests. Chickens are housed in mobile chicken coops on wheels. Move the coops 200 feet every night so chickens have fresh pasture each morning. Chickens on good pasture will get most of their food from bugs, worms, seeds, and leaves. Pasturing chickens greatly reduces feed costs: Portion only 1 to 2 Tablespoons = approximately 1/2 to 1 scale ounce of rolled grain daily per chicken. Keep moving chicken coops all year long. 30-day rotations (1 day grazing followed by 30 days rest) are best. Pastures need about 1 month to re-grow before they are grazed again. Long rotation periods are also necessary to control chicken parasites. Remember: Your best investment is an irrigation system. I would not start any commercial agricultural operation without a reliable water supply. Dwarf fruit trees are expensive. Water is cheap. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Water your trees and cover crops. I hope this information will help get you off to a good start. For more information on old-fashioned biological agriculture, visit: www.agriculturesolutions.wordpress.com -- or -- www.worldagriculturesolutions.wordpress.com -- or -- send your questions to: Agriculture Solutions, 413 Cedar Drive, Moon Township, Pennsylvania, 15108 USA -- or -- send an e-mail to: erickoperek@gmail.com end comment....See MoreNeal Rich
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