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Old 12-02-2019, 04:12 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
songbird[_2_] songbird[_2_] is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,072
Default Cardboard as mulch and other Q's

Terry Coombs wrote:

Â* I was just wondering if using cardboard instead of (or in addition
to) straw as mulch will help prevent stuff like squash borers from
attacking the plants . I'm doing it this year for other reasons , just
wondered if that might be a bonus .


i don't know but my guess is not really likely to
make a difference. plant resistant varieties (buttercup,
rambo, trombonico, etc).

i'm not sure if growing plants in larger containers and
growing them longer will give them a tougher stem and a
harder target. i just don't notice them that much and when
i do see a lot more of them then it is time to rotate the
planting spot for them.


Got a few seeds in the dirt today ,
iceberg lettuce out in the garden and tomatoes and green peppers in
starter cells . I think this year I'll start my squashes indoors too ,
I've had lousy germination rates planting outside . But they grow fast ,
and I'm not sure how much lead time they need before planting out .
Suggestions ? 4 weeks ? 5 maybe ?


i've never started squash indoors here and peppers
are the opposite as we always get starts from the
greenhouse for those.

if you have poor germination rates on squash it is
probably not warmed up enough soil for them yet. if
the area is mulched pull back the mulch so the sun
can get to the soil and warm it up. then after they
are up and going you can put the mulch back some.


Â* I'm also looking for suggestions for a sweet corn variety . I'm going
to try some this year in hopes my wife can eat homegrown - we suspect
the Roundup used on commercial corn crops is the true culprit with her
corn "allergy" .


we eat so little of it these past few years that we
don't grow it. no problems with me from the sweet
corn varieties we've had (peaches and cream seems to
be one type i recall).

if you have critter problems corn is the one plant
we decided it just wasn't worth growing for how little
we eat it. raccoons all around us and no way for me
to easily fence them out for a few $. in order to
grow corn here we'd need a new fence with a very good
gate and electric hot wires to keep them from climbing
over (not worth the price in comparison to what else
we grow).


songbird