In article
songbird writes:

i'll be interested in what he says, but i
would not be surprised if it isn't aimed at
reducing fungal diseases (if you don't have
organic material on the surface of the soil
then the spores have fewer places to hide
from the sun's uv rays).

my own recent experiences has told me that
this is a false approach. instead i had very
good results from using leaves and wood chips
to help greatly reduce a spotted disease that
has been getting at the lillies in the spring.

How is it that you are using them?
Surface mulch or something else?

I had my cucumbers largely taken out by mildew this year (among
other things, they were too close together), so I'm keeping an eye
out for things that tip the balance on fungus.

the past few years it was pretty bad on almost
every leave, and then this year it was just
one or two spots here or there for the entire
plant. if next spring is similar then i'll be
very happy with the result.


songbird


--
|Drew Lawson | If you're not part of the solution |
| | you're part of the precipitate. |