what to use and how to mulch

18 years ago

I need some words of wisdom from all of you seasoned SF gardeners.

I would like to mulch my beds because I planned a vacation at the end of July and I am worried about my plants babysitter not watering as well as I would plus temps are starting to rise here in CT and I think that it seems that even if I go out and water in the am on some of the hotter days, the plants still appear to be slightly wilted in the evening and I don't want to get in the habit of evening watering because I will have no idea what to do if invite any disease into the bed.

I was thinking about newspaper but it is not easy to put it down in squares that have more than one plant in them. I was putting it down in flat sheets and cutting slits for the plants. Maybe I am suppose to shred it?

I was also considering black or red plastic but fitting it around the plants and not harming them seems hard to me and if I don't have any irrigation under the plastic how will the water get to them....Unless I am suppose to cut big holes around the plants stems and that will actually direct the water to the plants roots?

I also considered grass clippings but we have a lawn service that comes and applies fertilizer and weed control every 3 months so I don't think that would be good for the plants.... is that right? Would that means that I should not add them to a compost pile as well?

So I am looking for some words of wisdom on the whole mulching thing.

If you need to see any pictures of the garden or my layout you can take a look at mySFG Blog There are photos in the photo tab and updated visits to the garden in the albums section. The whole garden layout can be found in the layout section. I hope you enjoy the site and I look forward to finding out how you all mulch your beds.

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Comments (4)

yrdling
18 years ago
I just started gardening for the first time ever this year, so I'm not a seasoned SFG'er. I used coconut coir mulch. I have noticed less wilting since I put it down and I am watering less. I live in north Texas, and it has been pretty hot already, windy and dry.

It comes in compressed blocks that weigh nine pounds and expands with the addition of water to 2 cubic feet of mulch. I soaked it in water in my wheelbarrow to expand it and helped it along by clawing it with a hand claw. It took longer to apply and it is a little messier to deal with than most mulches because of the need to soak it in water to expand it, but I didn't mind that. Gardening is a somewhat messy activity anyway.

I found the coconut coir mulch at a local hardware store using the store locator on this site: The Original Mulch Block.

I don't profess to know what the best kind of mulch is, but I like the coconut coir, and I'll probably keep using it.

I always water in the evening, by the way. If that encourages disease, I'd like to know that. I can't see why it would be any different from watering in the morning in that respect, and I have always thought that evaporation would be reduced by watering in the evening.
yrdling
18 years ago
I forgot to mention, I used six of the 9 pound blocks to mulch two 8x4 foot beds. I had enough left over to mulch several container plants.

The mulch consists of small coconut husk wood chips with a lot of stringy fibers that help hold it all together. It doesn't seem to budge in a strong wind, whereas I've noticed that decorative bark mulch sometimes will blow around.

You can see what fresh coconut coir mulch looks like in this photo.
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queuetue
18 years ago
The reduced evaporation is actually the problem - water sits on the leaves and provides a growth medium for fungus and disease. As well, the plants do not draw as much water at night, so more of it will drain away before it is drawn into the plants.

Some people consider it critical to not water in the evening, but with how often it rains at night, and how many plants around the world live just fine, I don't worry about it too much, and just water in the morning when I can, or anytime if I can't.
istheremeaning
Original Author
18 years ago
I was looking at the coconut mulch but I am wondering something.... I think it says that it is durable and so I thought it maybe would not break down enough in one season to be able to mix it into the bed. Am I right in that assumption?
Because I almost bought it and I really like the way it looks compared to my newspaper I started to add.
I found out that I can pick up some straw right around the corner if anyone can give me some input on how the coconut mulch handles a season I would really appreciate it. It will help me decide between that or the straw.
Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: my square foot garden blog