Discussing Mulch in the Garden

[Auntiejessi3]

My garden was a mess of weeds last year. I was determined to prevent that from happening this year. I pull weeds, but I decided mulch was going to be the key to my plan moving forward. I'm hoping I don't regret it.

The idea is that mulch suppresses the weeds and prevents weed seeds from landing in moist fertile soil where they will sprout. The added benefits I recognize with mulch are moisture retention and thermal insulation for the soil and roots in that soil. There are potential cons though to using mulch in the garden. I've battled slugs in the past, and that was without mulch. Mulch is going to create an environment ideal for slugs - cool, moist and plenty of cover from birds. I may be creating a slug highway system throughout my garden. There's also the issue of preventing soil from warming up as fast in the Spring in future years (not much of a problem this year since I was well into Spring by the time I started mulching around planting areas).

I already have wood chips on the paths around my raised beds and on the main walking path. I incorporated long-term raised rows this year (I will not be tilling and rebuilding the mounds every year) which allows me to mulch heavily between them. I am using straw between the raised rows and in the raised beds as mulch. Wood chips seemed like a more carbon rich material that could potentially steal nutrients and is long-lasting so if I do decide to rearrange things in the future it would be difficult because I would need to remove the mulch rather than just work it into the soil. I also use unsifted compost to as a mulch and soil amendment all-in-one by top-dressing around plants with it.

What's experience with mulch in the garden?
What types of mulch do you prefer?
Do you mulch around plants or just walking paths?
Does mulch lead to increase slug populations/damage?
Other pros and cons of mulch in the garden?

I had mulch in the garden last year and I'll never do it again. It lead to fungus in one of my raised beds because of all the rain, total pain to get rid of!

 

[Mtnboomer]

My garden was a mess of weeds last year. I was determined to prevent that from happening this year. I pull weeds, but I decided mulch was going to be the key to my plan moving forward. I'm hoping I don't regret it.

The idea is that mulch suppresses the weeds and prevents weed seeds from landing in moist fertile soil where they will sprout. The added benefits I recognize with mulch are moisture retention and thermal insulation for the soil and roots in that soil. There are potential cons though to using mulch in the garden. I've battled slugs in the past, and that was without mulch. Mulch is going to create an environment ideal for slugs - cool, moist and plenty of cover from birds. I may be creating a slug highway system throughout my garden. There's also the issue of preventing soil from warming up as fast in the Spring in future years (not much of a problem this year since I was well into Spring by the time I started mulching around planting areas).

I already have wood chips on the paths around my raised beds and on the main walking path. I incorporated long-term raised rows this year (I will not be tilling and rebuilding the mounds every year) which allows me to mulch heavily between them. I am using straw between the raised rows and in the raised beds as mulch. Wood chips seemed like a more carbon rich material that could potentially steal nutrients and is long-lasting so if I do decide to rearrange things in the future it would be difficult because I would need to remove the mulch rather than just work it into the soil. I also use unsifted compost to as a mulch and soil amendment all-in-one by top-dressing around plants with it.

What's experience with mulch in the garden?
What types of mulch do you prefer?
Do you mulch around plants or just walking paths?
Does mulch lead to increase slug populations/damage?
Other pros and cons of mulch in the garden?

I have tried straw and wood mulch. If you till, wood chips or much can steal nitrogen from the soil and hold it until the wood decomposes when it will be released back into the soil. So if you mulch and till the following year, you will want to fertilize.
Both were only temporary fixes for me and i have chose to go the black plastic route this year. I could only afford to place it (6ml plastic) around my non-row crops but its doing great and so are the plants.
My plan for next year is to till the garden under at the end of this season and plant it in a cover crop of clover. Next year i will leave the clover in place and cut out areas just large enough to run the seed or insert the plants. The clover will then act as a living muclh by suppressing other weeds, retaining soil moisture, fixing nitrogen in the soil, and fertilizing with its clippings. I did a test run this year with a small (600sf) portion of the garden and it is also doing great.
I have VERY poor heavy clay soil and have spent a lot of time and energy in improving it but so far, weather permitting and human error kept to minimum, the garddn has always flourished. Knock on wood.

 

[BReeder!]

I have tried straw and wood mulch. If you till, wood chips or much can steal nitrogen from the soil and hold it until the wood decomposes when it will be released back into the soil. So if you mulch and till the following year, you will want to fertilize.
Both were only temporary fixes for me and i have chose to go the black plastic route this year. I could only afford to place it (6ml plastic) around my non-row crops but its doing great and so are the plants.
My plan for next year is to till the garden under at the end of this season and plant it in a cover crop of clover. Next year i will leave the clover in place and cut out areas just large enough to run the seed or insert the plants. The clover will then act as a living muclh by suppressing other weeds, retaining soil moisture, fixing nitrogen in the soil, and fertilizing with its clippings. I did a test run this year with a small (600sf) portion of the garden and it is also doing great.
I have VERY poor heavy clay soil and have spent a lot of time and energy in improving it but so far, weather permitting and human error kept to minimum, the garddn has always flourished. Knock on wood.

I have clover growing wild as a weed here. It pops up in my beds and rows all the time. I've been pulling it, but I was thinking about leaving it as a cover crop. It would be neat to have a cover crop that also pumps nitrogen into the soil for my vegetable plants. Interesting that we both came to this conclusion. I have not tried it yet, but maybe I'll seed clover this Fall and let it get off to a start before winter so it comes in early Spring as a cover.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Clover does not automatically put nitrogen in the soil. It needs help. There is a certain bacteria that causes knots to form on the roots. It's this bacteria that that does the nitrogen fixing. If you pull or dig some clover and see knots on the roots it's fixing nitrogen. No knots, no nitrogen fixing.

That bacteria is fairly common in nature, there is a pretty good chance it is in your soil, but you might want to check. You can buy an "inoculant" to introduce that bacteria but if you do, make sure you get one that is listed for clover. Beans or peas need a different bacteria than clover so make sure you get the right one.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I have clover growing wild as a weed here. It pops up in my beds and rows all the time. I've been pulling it, but I was thinking about leaving it as a cover crop. It would be neat to have a cover crop that also pumps nitrogen into the soil for my vegetable plants. Interesting that we both came to this conclusion. I have not tried it yet, but maybe I'll seed clover this Fall and let it get off to a start before winter so it comes in early Spring as a cover.

Clover does best when seeded in late August- mid September here in va zone 6b or frost seeded in early spring from late February-april.
Ive been growing it as a food plot for years for whitetail deer and wild turkey. My grandfather would use it as a cover crop but till it under in the spring. I got the idea last year but didn't want to risk the whole garden on it so i let the dutch white clover (typical yard clover) that would inevitably come up in the garden grow and didn't till it in this season in a small test area.
It has convinced me to try the whole garden next year. The weeds (other than the clover) are minimal and much easier to manage than the rest of the garden where my traditional route of tilling, planting, weeding, weeding, weeding, weeding, etc was used.

I kept it trimmed with hand shears to not overwhelm the seeds until the seedlings were taller than the clover. After that i let the clover go wild still trimming the flower tops to promote vegetative growth. Im still trying to think of a way to keep it trimmed next year because hand shears will not be feasible for the whole garden.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Clover does not automatically put nitrogen in the soil. It needs help. There is a certain bacteria that causes knots to form on the roots. It's this bacteria that that does the nitrogen fixing. If you pull or dig some clover and see knots on the roots it's fixing nitrogen. No knots, no nitrogen fixing.

That bacteria is fairly common in nature, there is a pretty good chance it is in your soil, but you might want to check. You can buy an "inoculant" to introduce that bacteria but if you do, make sure you get one that is listed for clover. Beans or peas need a different bacteria than clover so make sure you get the right one.

Correct. Good clarification.

 

[Sally PB]

Does anybody else drop trimmings and pulled weeds between rows to add to the mulch?

Yes. I avoid any grass roots or long string root things. Or if it's supposed to rain in the near future.

I was leaning towards shredded because they break down faster into a layer of compost and they allow water to drain through by not matting as much as whole leaves. However, the whole leaves matting together may act as a better weed barrier.

My butternut squash bed is a big flat area. I haul tarps full of mostly oak leaves down there every year and just dump them on after the vines are pulled out. I spread them out and leave them over the winter.

In the spring, I rake back a 3 foot diameter circle where I'm going to plant hills of squash. The bare earth warms up. The thick mat of leaves suppresses weeds. The leaves break down and break up as I walk over them. What was a very sandy bed is much better soil. I find earthworms now.

Yes, I do see slugs. Any I find get catapulted over the garden fence with the trowel. I've heard that DE sprinkled around plants will deter slugs. I might try that out if I need to.

 

[Birdsonghill]

Cover crops of white clover (Dutch or New Zealand white) are very useful for me. I often till it in but also allow it to grow between the rows or even around the vegetables in the planting rows. I also use rye, oats, buckwheat, mustards and other cover crops. A combination of natural mulches, woven polypropylene fabric, reflective/silver topped plastic and yes, even cardboard or old news papers, with out color inks used on them. My brother pointed out to me (he was an executive in the printing inks/supply industry) that many inks, especially colored, may contain dangerous additives and metals. I seldom use the papers or cardboard long term because of insects/rodents and snails hiding under it, comfortably! The permanent mulch/Ruth Stout method did not do well for me here for vegetables. I tried it in a garden for 10 years. Too many pest, insects, disease and other critters liked it too. Crops grew well, but I had too many problems to make it viable for me. I often, only till up the row tops in my larger gardens now with permanent paths with clover or just shallow cultivate between the rows with a tiller or hand tools for weeds. Never use old carpets for mulch! Many have been contaminated with insecticides or carpet cleaning /scent chemicals and the worse things are the pest habitat created and that getting rid of the deteriorating carpet can be a nightmare, as it starts unraveling its synthetic fibers that persist for many decades, at least, heavy with soil/moisture, and falling apart! Mulching is great and most plants appreciate it. I also use self mulching plants planted a bit close sometimes. Crowder peas can cover the ground so densely that little will compete once they get up a couple feet. I use Seminole pumpkins as mulch , three sister's garden style, in my corn patch, with cornfield pole beans growing up the corn, seldom pulling a weed after the corn gets over waist high and the vines are starting to shade the ground. Some weeds may grow fairly plentiful and tall but the yield is great for my heirloom varieties grown traditional American Indian style. A lifetime of gardening frugally, and still learning every year, from my experiences and by listening to others experiences! Enjoy your gardens!