I mulch all my beans with straw or hay. I do not mulch until they are all up and have true leaves on them. I hoe them after they have sprotted to pull dirt up around the beans about a week or so later when they have true leaves and are ready to run I put up the poles and cover the area around them with straw no weed problem only occasional spot pulling of some stuburn weeds. Also no muddy feet only nice clean straw to walk on. at the end of the season the poles come down and all is turned under in the fall and sowed in clover. as a cover crop. I also plant two parallel rows. I have place feed bags in the middles between the two rows and covered with straw. This is a great way to use those paper feed sacs instead of throwing them out. At the end of the year they turn under very easiliy and there is no trace of them left come spring.

Most of the time, I mulch BEFORE the beans come up. That's with either unfinished compost made mainly of shredded maple leaves or just the shredded leaves. There are two reasons behind it and probably one that few think of. First, of course, is for weed suppression where weeds are a problem. That gives the bean plant a fighting chance to stay ahead. The second is one that is even more important in heavy soils. That is to keep the surface of the soil damp when the bean plants are trying to emerge. Last year, my bean blocks and rows were covered with compost and had nearly 100% successful emergence in the community garden plots. Many others had a lot of plants break their necks trying to push through the hard surface. Not so this year as my extra bags of shredded leaves were put to good use.

Martin

Jen, it sounds like you are gardening large-scale, with plenty of room between rows for the tractor. If so, straw mulch after germination & weeding is probably the most appropriate method for you, and the weeding is just a necessary evil. That is the method that I use.

Seed Savers' Heritage Farm just peels layers of straw 3-4" thick off the bales (do you call them "leaves"?), and lays them down side-by-side all down the row, slid up tight against the plants.

But if you are able to _shred_ your straw, you might be able to try Paquebot's method. At the very least, the shredded straw would be much easier to handle.

I put down shredded leaves and thin layers of grass clippings prior to planting. I then move the mulch aside a bit to plant seed. Once the plants are up...I continue to put down thin layers of grass clippings. Helps to keep weeds down.

Sounds ideal, if you have those materials available. The grass clippings & leaves also support a healthy earthworm population. And fresh or freshly-dried clippings supply a fair amount of nutrients as they break down, or are converted to worm castings. They are the best mulch bar none, if you have enough of them & they are not contaminated with lawn chemicals.