Carl, looking good!..

As for the timing question, you may want to add your USDA and Sunset zones to your profile so that folks in your area my be able to better respond... I'm guessing by your having planted brussel sprouts and broccoli that you most likely not in my zone.

The timing question was more for the mulch. This year I mulched the beds before I put in my seedings. In the past I have mulched but waited until the plants were larger, a foot or so tall. I didn't know if there are any adverse affects of the mulch around the small seedlings.

Thanks,

Carl

Gotcha.. I usually try to put my leaf mulch as soon as possible. I find that if I mulch early, the rain has less chance to beat down my garden rows. But my may worry, like yours, is in having the leaves cover the small plants. One help, I generally use plastic collars made from 2 liter drink bottles. After the cutting the bottle top and bottom off, I cut down the middle to make 2 collars. The main purpose is to keep the cutworms from cutting down small plants but the secondary reason is to keep the leaf mulch from covering up the plants.

I didn't think about that, that is a good idea. Guess I need to buy a bunch and give them to my sister's kids to drink down. Shouldn't take more than 20 minutes or so. :)

Thanks,
Carl

Carl, your garden looks great! I was wondering the same thing about when to mulch- thanks grandad.

Great job and great looking garden.

I thought cutworms were placed on the plants by the moth laying eggs on the plant, hatching and then chomping to adulthood? so how would a collar keep them from it if they are already on board?

Wonder why so many people have so many different opinions on mulching...how does one (inexperienced like me) decide what to do? mulch early? mulch later? I guess I better start a new thread :)

Carl, do you have any arial photos or from a distance so as to see the detail of the layout of your beds? I would love to see the overall layout...looks very interesting and I'm about to place some raised bed planters and would love some new ideas.

I find a good time to mulch is early in the season just after one of those drenching Spring rains and before the weeds get going too much. Also helps if you actually have procured the mulch by that time. When the 3 factors align, nothing could be more awesome - moisture in, weeds out, soil amendment in progress.

Rjinga, I would imagine that it's possible the cutworms are propogated as you have described. On the other hand I have not done research on this. I do know that the worms are in the soil and and roam around at night looging for greenery. Keeping the collars on the plants limits their access to the vegetable plants. I have on occasion "captured" cutworms in the collar. When the plants are chopped off at ground level inside the collar then it's a sure bet the cutworm is inside the collar under ground level, and I always find them there.

On the when to mulch question, it's probably going to be a trial-and-error process. The questions abound - what to use, on what plants, when and to use it, on what soil type, in what garden location, what not to use, etc... What works well for me might not work well for you. Actually in general, what works well for me one year, might not work well the next. The challenge is what makes gardening fun, and it feels good when you succeed. I find that keeping a log of what works and what doesn't work is helpful from one season to the next.

Thanks for the compliments. Sorry about not getting back sooner there were 4 tornados early Saturday morning so my weekend has been busy, it didn't hit my house but got close to my sister's house. I finally have gotten the garden how I like it and now I am moving!! Oh well I will have plenty of room where I am going to expand. {{gwi:52740}} is the best that I have right now as an overall. I will get up on the hill and take one this evening when I get home to give a better aerial view.

Here is as {{gwi:52742}} as I can get without climbing in the tractor bucket!! Hope this works.

Great garden, great pics. What are you going to do when you move? Can you disassemble the beds and take them with you? I hope you won't be moving until after harvest.

Thanks Rac!! Actually I start moving this weekend. The garden is at my parents house so I built it so they would have something easy to garden in. Neither one has shown a huge interest in it so I may have to keep this garden under my care for awhile. I will have three seperate gardens that I am working on this year!!