I've just put in a big garden, 60'x14', with tomatoes, peppers, herbs,
musk melons, peas, cucumbers, and strawberries. It's weed free at the
moment but that can't last. Any suggestions mulch? I'm thinking straw or
peat moss. I'm told that bark mulch is a bad idea.

General Schvantzkoph wrote:

I've just put in a big garden, 60'x14', with tomatoes, peppers, herbs,
musk melons, peas, cucumbers, and strawberries. It's weed free at the
moment but that can't last. Any suggestions mulch? I'm thinking straw or
peat moss. I'm told that bark mulch is a bad idea.




Mulch does so much for a garden. It help retains water, prevents water
from splashing up on the leaves, repels slugs and snails, dissuades
weeds, promotes a better environment for beneficial insects...etc etc.

Straw would work great. Perhaps peat combined with the straw would be
better than peat alone. In order to stop the slugs and snails, you need
to ensure there are rough surfaces among the mulch (the rough surface
tears up the soft bellies of the buggers). Bark mulch is okay as long as
it's "mulch" and not bark chips or nuggets. The slugs would just make
houses out of them.

I use cedar mulch on everything. Awesome stuff.

..

Zone 5a in Canada's Far East

In article ,
cloud dreamer wrote:

General Schvantzkoph wrote:

I've just put in a big garden, 60'x14', with tomatoes, peppers, herbs,
musk melons, peas, cucumbers, and strawberries. It's weed free at the
moment but that can't last. Any suggestions mulch? I'm thinking straw or
peat moss. I'm told that bark mulch is a bad idea.




Mulch does so much for a garden. It help retains water, prevents water
from splashing up on the leaves, repels slugs and snails, dissuades
weeds, promotes a better environment for beneficial insects...etc etc.

Straw would work great. Perhaps peat combined with the straw would be
better than peat alone. In order to stop the slugs and snails, you need
to ensure there are rough surfaces among the mulch (the rough surface
tears up the soft bellies of the buggers). Bark mulch is okay as long as
it's "mulch" and not bark chips or nuggets. The slugs would just make
houses out of them.

I use cedar mulch on everything. Awesome stuff.

Cedar? Really?
Cedar shavings killed anything I ever tried them with, including
tomatoes. ;-( That's why I switched to pine.
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch"
-- Jack Nicholson

OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:

In article ,
cloud dreamer wrote:


I use cedar mulch on everything. Awesome stuff.


Cedar? Really?
Cedar shavings killed anything I ever tried them with, including
tomatoes. ;-( That's why I switched to pine.


That is a myth. Something else killed the tomatoes, not the cedar shavings.

http://agebb.missouri.edu/hort/meg/a.../v7n3/meg6.htm
http://www.garden-yard.com/garden-mu...h_Debunked.php

..

Zone 5a in Canada's Far East.

In article ,
cloud dreamer wrote:

[snip]
Mulch does so much for a garden. It [snip] repels slugs and snails,... [snip]

Really? What do you use for mulch that repels? Mine always seems to keep
things moist & cozy for slugs -- though I'd agree that the positive aspects
of mulch usually outweigh this serious problem.

-f
--

Frank Miles wrote:

In article ,
cloud dreamer wrote:

[snip]

Mulch does so much for a garden. It [snip] repels slugs and snails,... [snip]


Really? What do you use for mulch that repels? Mine always seems to keep
things moist & cozy for slugs -- though I'd agree that the positive aspects
of mulch usually outweigh this serious problem.

-f


It definitely repels slugs and snails. I caught them at night having a
buffet on my flowers last year before I put a layer of mulch down...then
the flowers flourished. I've yet to find one in the mulch.

I have my raised beds surrounded by mulch and usually put landscape
fabric under it. I'll find the odd slug under there but the fabric is
stabled to the raised bed, so they can't take the tunnel route.

..

Zone 5a in Canada's Far East.

How do you know if my bark mulch is not chips? I know when I get the
mulch, that my gardener delivered, in my shoes, it hurts.

The slugs seem to be getting through though. I haven't seen them but
some of the leaves have those lines of munching. I have also seen a
few catepilars on the leaves, so maybe that is what is eating the
leaves and not the slugs or snails.

I used some insecticidal soap from Schultz but with all the rain we
had I am sure I need to do it again.

Alan

On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 19:52:49 -0230, cloud dreamer
wrote:

General Schvantzkoph wrote:

I've just put in a big garden, 60'x14', with tomatoes, peppers, herbs,
musk melons, peas, cucumbers, and strawberries. It's weed free at the
moment but that can't last. Any suggestions mulch? I'm thinking straw or
peat moss. I'm told that bark mulch is a bad idea.




Mulch does so much for a garden. It help retains water, prevents water
from splashing up on the leaves, repels slugs and snails, dissuades
weeds, promotes a better environment for beneficial insects...etc etc.

Straw would work great. Perhaps peat combined with the straw would be
better than peat alone. In order to stop the slugs and snails, you need
to ensure there are rough surfaces among the mulch (the rough surface
tears up the soft bellies of the buggers). Bark mulch is okay as long as
it's "mulch" and not bark chips or nuggets. The slugs would just make
houses out of them.

I use cedar mulch on everything. Awesome stuff.

..

Zone 5a in Canada's Far East

Alan wrote:

How do you know if my bark mulch is not chips? I know when I get the
mulch, that my gardener delivered, in my shoes, it hurts.

The slugs seem to be getting through though. I haven't seen them but
some of the leaves have those lines of munching. I have also seen a
few catepilars on the leaves, so maybe that is what is eating the
leaves and not the slugs or snails.

I used some insecticidal soap from Schultz but with all the rain we
had I am sure I need to do it again.

Alan


The chips are solid pieces around three inches long and wide. The
nuggets are smaller versions of the chips...roughly an inch or more in
size. Mulch is the same stuff finely chopped up. You have to use gloves
to spread it cause it feels like its full of splinters and sharp edges.
The pieces can be as large as the nugget or ground up to feel almost
like clumps of hair (if it gets into your shoes and hurts...it probably
is mulch). The mulch won't stop caterpillars or ants but will dissuade
the slugs and snails. As I noted, I put landscape fabric down first (the
slugs don't like crawling along the fabric) and then put the mulch on
top. Since I staple the fabric to the raised bed, they can't go
underneath either.

The mulch needs to be a couple inches thick (not too thick...or the
stuff underneath will begin to rot and the buggers can get through). The
mulch also needs to be at least a foot wide...or wider if possible. The
wider it is, the harder it will be for the slug to travel over it.

If you want to find out what is munching on your plants you can go out
after dark with a flashlight. If it's slugs, you'll see them then. You
would also see their slimy trails in the morning. You can also try
putting out a tray of beer (something with a low edge). Put it near the
affected plants. If the slugs are the culprits, they'll show up in the
beer. (It's always possible that a slug or two get caught in the area as
you're laying the mulch....). All this varies depending on how you're
set up of course.

..

Zone 5a in Canada's slug-infested Far East.

General Schvantzkoph wrote:
I've just put in a big garden, 60'x14', with tomatoes, peppers, herbs,
musk melons, peas, cucumbers, and strawberries. It's weed free at the
moment but that can't last. Any suggestions mulch? I'm thinking straw or
peat moss. I'm told that bark mulch is a bad idea.


We use newspaper, three layers, covered with grass clippings and chopped
up leaves. Straw should work fine but you should check the pH of your
soil before adding peat moss, peat moss is pretty acidic. HTH

George

In article ,
George Shirley wrote:

General Schvantzkoph wrote:
I've just put in a big garden, 60'x14', with tomatoes, peppers, herbs,
musk melons, peas, cucumbers, and strawberries. It's weed free at the
moment but that can't last. Any suggestions mulch? I'm thinking straw or
peat moss. I'm told that bark mulch is a bad idea.


We use newspaper, three layers, covered with grass clippings and chopped
up leaves. Straw should work fine but you should check the pH of your
soil before adding peat moss, peat moss is pretty acidic. HTH

George

Be cautious with straw or hay.
It tends to be full of weed seeds.

I've had grass clippings take root if they had any joints/rhizome
remnants.
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch"
-- Jack Nicholson

In article ,
George Shirley wrote:
General Schvantzkoph wrote:
I've just put in a big garden, 60'x14', with tomatoes, peppers, herbs,
musk melons, peas, cucumbers, and strawberries. It's weed free at the
moment but that can't last. Any suggestions mulch? I'm thinking straw or
peat moss. I'm told that bark mulch is a bad idea.


We use newspaper, three layers, covered with grass clippings and chopped
up leaves. Straw should work fine but you should check the pH of your
soil before adding peat moss, peat moss is pretty acidic. HTH

We've started using newspaper and it works great.
You do have to put stuff on top or the wind will blow it
around. We normally just shovel dirt off to the side,
put down the newspaper and sprinkle the dirt on top.



George



--
---------- Henry Cate
"Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what
little chance you have in trying to change others." -- Jacob M. Braude
Our blog: http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/

"George Shirley" wrote in message
...
General Schvantzkoph wrote:
I've just put in a big garden, 60'x14', with tomatoes, peppers, herbs,
musk melons, peas, cucumbers, and strawberries. It's weed free at the
moment but that can't last. Any suggestions mulch? I'm thinking straw or
peat moss. I'm told that bark mulch is a bad idea.


We use newspaper, three layers, covered with grass clippings and chopped
up leaves. Straw should work fine but you should check the pH of your soil
before adding peat moss, peat moss is pretty acidic. HTH

George


In previous years I've put newpaper down with cedar mulch on top. This year
I'm trying to reduce the cost of my garden and have decided to just put
grass clippings down. So far it's working ok. And it's free. Will try to
save some seed this year too. The soild is finally where I like it to be so
no more major amendments are necessary. I had the soil tested by the local
coop extension and everything they tested for was great. I have yet to do
it, but for my strawberry patch I am going to use the dried, overwintered
cut seagrass (ornamental grass) from the property as a substitute for straw
since it's very similar in appearance.

"General Schvantzkoph" wrote in message
news
I've just put in a big garden, 60'x14', with tomatoes, peppers, herbs,
musk melons, peas, cucumbers, and strawberries. It's weed free at the
moment but that can't last. Any suggestions mulch? I'm thinking straw or
peat moss. I'm told that bark mulch is a bad idea.

Straw is full of seeds and could cost more than you might like to spend to
get good coverage.

Peat moss blows away easily.

Getting all those bales of straw or peat to your location may be a problem
unless you have access to a truck or pay for delivery.

Leaf mold is good mulching material and it/s often free for the hauling, but
you still need a truck.

Grass clippings are free and conveniently located near your garden.

My garden is a bit smaller than yours (40' x 16'). I plant in 4' wide beds
with ~2' wide strips of grass in between the beds. It/s easy to maintain
and highly productive. Once the plants begin to mature, they produce their
own 'weed controling, moisture conserving mulch' as the foliage from the
high-density planting shades the ground. Weeds between the beds are
controlled with the lawn mower.

You got to be careful with grass. You can kill you plants with N burns
when you heap on fresh grass clippings.

In article ,
"TQ" ToweringQs AT adelphia.net wrote:

"General Schvantzkoph" wrote in message
news
I've just put in a big garden, 60'x14', with tomatoes, peppers, herbs,
musk melons, peas, cucumbers, and strawberries. It's weed free at the
moment but that can't last. Any suggestions mulch? I'm thinking straw or
peat moss. I'm told that bark mulch is a bad idea.

Straw is full of seeds and could cost more than you might like to spend to
get good coverage.

Peat moss blows away easily.

Getting all those bales of straw or peat to your location may be a problem
unless you have access to a truck or pay for delivery.

Leaf mold is good mulching material and it/s often free for the hauling, but
you still need a truck.

Nah. ;-) People throw out bags of leaves all over town all the time.
Just cruise the ritzier parts of town where folks pay to have people
rake leaves. The bags are on the curb and you can toss some in the
trunk, back seat and passenger side.


Grass clippings are free and conveniently located near your garden.

Just make sure it's just clippings, and not strands of grass. Since I
have bermuda, it's been a problem to try to use them. I had to quit.
The damned things took root.


My garden is a bit smaller than yours (40' x 16'). I plant in 4' wide beds
with ~2' wide strips of grass in between the beds. It/s easy to maintain
and highly productive. Once the plants begin to mature, they produce their
own 'weed controling, moisture conserving mulch' as the foliage from the
high-density planting shades the ground. Weeds between the beds are
controlled with the lawn mower.
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch"
-- Jack Nicholson