Re: to mulch or not to mulch

**Scorpio Rising** 7/10/2017, 8:53 pm

Wow! That is very enlightening, thanks, Has55! I am not a big muncher. I did put pine bark chips on my pool area last year. But other than that, nada. At my old house, I used that black stuff a couple times around plants, not food plants, and they did OK. But hey? Who knows what is in it!

**Scorpio Rising** 7/10/2017, 8:55 pm

quiltbea wrote:One year I mulched with hay. What a disaster. I got so many weeds it was a long hard haul to keep them pulled.
Next year I went with straw, and what a wonderful difference. No weed invasion.
Hay is live when cut and straw is not. That must be the difference.

Hay has the seed tops, and straw (at least wheat straw) has the wheat seed removed before baling.

**sanderson** 7/11/2017, 2:49 am

Right. Bedding straw are the stalks left after 99.9% of the grain heads have been harvested. I always find a few (wheat heads in my area) in the bedding straw.

countrynaturals 10/19/2017, 3:07 pm

I also use leaf mulch around weak, leggy plants. My leaves are small oak, not crushed, just right out of the yard. I use them around plants that are struggling to stand up. The loose nature of the leaves support the plants without smothering them and the results are happy plants. I've done it with Daikon radishes and peas so far. I also use them under melons and squash, to keep the fruit off the ground. My latest experiment is potatoes. I laid the seed potatoes on the ground and covered with about 6" of leaves. They aren't up yet (it's been about 3 weeks) but the leaves are holding in the moisture, nicely (unless I'm overwatering Rolling Eyes

).

countrynaturals 10/19/2017, 5:20 pm

Not a traditional mulch, but surrounding your plants with prickly pinecones will deter pests from digging. The plants don't mind, since the pinecones won't smother them.

BeetlesPerSqFt 10/19/2017, 6:42 pm

I've really liked what straw mulch does for/to my MM. I've been mulching my garlic squares. When I harvest I can see that the MM is moister and has a better texture than MM elsewhere in the garden. I can also see that the worms leave castings underneath the straw. I used the last of the straw I had for the box the upcoming planting of garlic will go in. I want more, and want to expand my use to not just garlic squares... but I know I'll have to be careful about what I buy vs which herbicides were used on the fields the straw is from.

**sanderson** 10/19/2017, 7:36 pm

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:I've really liked what straw mulch does for/to my MM. I've been mulching my garlic squares. When I harvest I can see that the MM is moister and has a better texture than MM elsewhere in the garden. I can also see that the worms leave castings underneath the straw. I used the last of the straw I had for the box the upcoming planting of garlic will go in. I want more, and want to expand my use to not just garlic squares... but I know I'll have to be careful about what I buy vs which herbicides were used on the fields the straw is from.

MM after a few months under the straw mulch this summer. Love it! to mulch or not to mulch - Page 2 Compos10

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