Is it out of line to use hardwood mulch in a veggie garden? What
would the negatives be? I've been doing this about 5 years and it
seems I'm ALWAYS fighting the weeds... especially around root plants
(onions, beets, etc.) Hopefully I can get more crops for the deer
this year!


Kevin Miller
Zone 5

Kevin Miller said:


Is it out of line to use hardwood mulch in a veggie garden? What
would the negatives be? I've been doing this about 5 years and it
seems I'm ALWAYS fighting the weeds... especially around root plants
(onions, beets, etc.) Hopefully I can get more crops for the deer
this year!

Hardwood mulch can be great in areas that aren't constantly being
replanted. In edible gardening, that means around the asparagus,
rhubarb, berry bushes, and fruit trees.

I prefer something quicker to break down or easier to rake off for
the vegetable garden. Straw, dried grass clippings, shredded
leaves and screened compost -- sometimes backed with layers
of newspaper -- do the job there for me.

Onions, though, well -- theres just some tedious weeding for a while
until they are big enough to spread a light mulch around them. They
don't like the competition of weeds at all, and as far as I can tell from
my experience, they don't like a heavy mulch, either.

As for deer, a few lines of electric fence would work wonders. If that's
undesirable, try stringing some heavy nylon monofiliment line around
the garden (at various levels, up to 6' or more). Make sure it is strong
firmly strung, so that a deer walking up to it won't go right through.

(I've only read that the monofiliment line can baffle/stop deer; I use an
electric fence to stop the groundhogs and raccoons from getting into
my vegetable garden.)
--
Pat in Plymouth MI

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

On Wed, 07 May 2003 00:41:51 -0500, Kevin Miller
wrote:


Is it out of line to use hardwood mulch in a veggie garden? What
would the negatives be? I've been doing this about 5 years and it
seems I'm ALWAYS fighting the weeds... especially around root plants
(onions, beets, etc.) Hopefully I can get more crops for the deer
this year!


Well, if you've been doing it for five years and still have
a lot of weeds, I'd think that was the main negative, no?

For myself, I want something that can be turned under to add
organic matter to the soil - hay, straw, or grass clippings.

Pat

On Wed, 07 May 2003 05:30:36 -0500, (Pat
Kiewicz) wrote:



As for deer, a few lines of electric fence would work wonders. If that's
undesirable, try stringing some heavy nylon monofiliment line around
the garden (at various levels, up to 6' or more). Make sure it is strong
firmly strung, so that a deer walking up to it won't go right through.

My guess is that it wouldn't hurt to hang a few junk CDs
(AOL, others) from the monofilament line. Be nice to find
some use for them anyway - other than as coasters.

(I've only read that the monofiliment line can baffle/stop deer; I use an
electric fence to stop the groundhogs and raccoons from getting into
my vegetable garden.)

We haven't had to do this yet. Our garden is surrounded by
my dogs - although they sleep in the house at night. So
far, so good. But if I have critter damage, we'll use
electric fence too.

Pat

Kevin Miller wrote:

Is it out of line to use hardwood mulch in a veggie garden? What
would the negatives be?

It could rob nitrogen from your soil when it breaks down

I've been doing this about 5 years and it
seems I'm ALWAYS fighting the weeds... especially around root plants
(onions, beets, etc.) Hopefully I can get more crops for the deer
this year!

Try using regular grass clippings, shredded up leaves, shredded
newspaper and my personal favorite is pilling on mushroom soil.



Kevin Miller
Zone 5