Skyhooks wrote in message ...
I have more of a brown thumb than I do a green one (sigh!?).

Stupid question (?) -- is it alright to use a good, thick layer of
cypress mulch around the base of cucumbers & cantaloupes to keep weeds
at bay? I've never used mulch around either (or anything for that
matter!), so I've no clue.

When is it NOT a good time to use (cypress) mulch (on anything?)?

TIA.

Skyhooks
hmardis "aht" uiuc "daught" edu

"reply to" address munged -- read line above for correct addy.

FIRST, when you say cypress, I know at least two different plants
(trees) that are called cypress. One is Italian Cypress and the other
is the Bald Cypress.
And other plants have the common name of Cyress.
Do you have a Scientific name? or describe the plant.
Genereral rule of thumb is a lot of evergreens (cone making types like
Pine, firs, spruce etc) are acid making when mixed into the soil. But
for some reason as a mulch may not acidify much. Especially when you
use other plant material mixed in, the mulch doesn't seem to acidify
strong as one might expect. If there is acidity, dolomite is a cheap.