Mulching...what do you use?

[Nicos]

Every year I keep promising to mulch more....and then I get a bit confused about what and where and when.
so, I thought it might be useful to have a thread pulling together our own experiences..and throwing in a few links peeps might find?

At the moment we use wood chip .....and grass mowings under the trees (up to a depth of about 2 ins as I read more than that and in the heat of summer it will compost and heat up. Possibly killing plants in contact with it?)
how true is that from experience?
i'd like to use much more straw as there's loads about at the moment....but does it blow about the garden everywhere in high winds?

i really need to get my head around this and find something which suits us best .

So..come on...advice, experiences, links etc would be much appreciated!

[Jay-ell]

Like you I keep promising myself to get more mulching done - then promptly forget.

I usually use a dust mulch - hoeing the surface to get a fine dust.

This year I've used chopped up pampas grass (mainly because I had a lot of it) under my pumpkins.

I've also use straw under the strawberries which hasn't blow away - possibly because it's held down by the strawberries and knits together.

I've used grass as well but as I've only got a small lawn I haven't used much.

[sparrow100]

I use a 2-3 inch mulch of leaves for my winter brassica beds. They're netted so don't blow around, and by spring the worms have dragged most of it into the soil. At the moment I have a good supply of leaves, but it's getting more difficult to find bulk storage space for them as I cultivate more areas on the plot.

I am trying to get better at collecting spent hops from the local brewery for use under fruit bushes and as a bulk brown for compost making.

[roitelet]

I use grass clippings, shredded woody garden waste, straw, wood chip from the chain saw and when I can get it chippings from a tree surgeon.

Grass clippings don't last long and only heat up if too much is put on at one time. The woody garden waste lasts a bit longer and looks better on the flowerbeds. Wood chip from the chain saw lasts about the same time but looks a bit stark when it first goes on. The best are the chippings but they are difficult to get here. The straw I use on the veg patch. It doesn't blow around if you press it down when you put it on. Works well but acts as a thatch so only put it on when the soil is wet. I also use the chop and drop method of composting on the veg patch.

The result of all this is the soil stays moister longer and there are VERY FEW WEEDS!

[happyhumph]

Grass in moderation is fine, but needs to be kept away from the stems of plants as it can "burn" them.

[Bigmallly]

Like you guys, I've used woodchip, grass clippings, leaves............but next year, If I remember....................I'm gonna try laying large leaves from Rhubarb, Comfrey, Brassicas, Courgettes etc & see if that helps reduce the light & hold in moisture...............Just having another one of my senior moments..........

[Bren In Pots]

I use grass cuttings and leaves but thats about it.

[bario1]

I've used all sorts, for different purposes. Grass clippings are great, I love the green blanket look when they first go down (don't look so great after a week or two though) - I usually use these under taller plants like mature kale. I also use re-shredded mushroom compost for any brassica bed, applied in a 2" thick layer before planting out - it helps with weed suppression and gradually leeches lime into the soil which brassicas seem to like.
I've used a 6" layer of partially rotted leaves from our allotment communal compost heap on unused beds over Winter, and that works a treat at keeping weeds down, and turns to nice crumbly soil by Spring. I've also tried thick straw mulches, it's amazing for moisture retention, but I find that the straw doesn't rot down easily, and turns into a nasty slimy, stringy mess that's hard to dig through - I'm planning on using that under fruit trees and bushes where I won't be digging in future.
I've also used cardboard with woodchip on top, but found that bindweed, couch grass and horsetail seem to love travelling under the cardboard and weaving themselves through it, and I'm convinced the woodchip leeches acidity into the soil - I'll only be using it for paths in future.
Forgot to mention seaweed! This Autumn I plan on getting a fair few sacks of seaweed to mulch my asparagus bed once I've cut down the ferns.

[Snoop Puss]

I've used straw in the past but use nothing now. I stopped using it because we need to water here and it was difficult to water adequately through the straw (that and the fact that one day, while weeding the sprouts, I nearly put my hand on a tarantula lurking in the straw).

I'm going to go back to putting straw on beds not in use over winter, as it had a really beneficial effect on the soil tilth once it had broken down. But I still can't make up my mind what to do in the summer months.

[Bigmallly]

I stopped using it because we need to water here and it was difficult to water adequately through the straw

I'm sure you are aware Snoop but the reason for mulching is to avoid watering. After a good soaking first, the mulch put on top should then retain the moisture for quite a long period. You only have to rake back a mulch of woodchip to see how damp the soil is underneath. I appreciate your climate is different to the UK but the principles should still be the same.

[Cadalot]

As the comfrey is growing faster than I can process it I have laid a thick mulch of chopped comfrey around by runner beans this year

[roitelet]

I have to water here as we'll SP but if you use a hose without a nozzle or a can and put a lot of water in one place it will run under the straw. Don't fancy the trantula though!!!!!

[muddled]

I mulch a lot.

Straw....straw bales allow you to take 'flakes'...kind of like slices....and these really don't fly about even in high winds. To water beneath I have old pop bottles and milk cartons dotted about for really thirsty plants. I find that normal plants don't need it (but then, of course, I'm not in sunny Spain).
The slugs love the straw though and in a really wet summer I have accidently grown a lovely crop of barley

Woodchips are lovely to use, I think they look nice. Couch grass and bindweed are so easy to pull up from a thick layer of woodchips....I really feel it is the chemical free solution for these weeds. I too worry about the PH effect....keep meaning to buy a kit to test it but keep forgetting.

Black plastic....ugly as sin of course but so handy. I put this down after rain and a month or two later my horrendous concrete hard clay is soft enough to turn over and the creeping buttercup roots can be removed...even by a creaky old bird like me

Cardboard and newspaper....I use, covered with woodchips, under fruit trees for a longer term coverage.

Comfrey leaves....I tried with not much success. The top ones went crispy and blew about revealing a slimey bottom layer absolutely HEAVING with slugs. I'll stick to sinking comfrey leaves in my water butt from now on.

Leaf mould. The absolute BEST mulch I have ever found for my thick clay plot. This gave zero problems, smelt gorgeous, looked nice, retained moisture and the beds that had a good thick layer put on in autumn had by far the best soil structure come spring! I used to get great sacks of ready rotted down leaf mould from a local groundsman but he has since started using herbicides. The only con for leafmould is where to get enough of it

[sparrow100]

The only con for leafmould is where to get enough of it

Yep!! Totally agree with that. Even the fresher leaves work really well.

I get 4 of the 1tonne bags filled with leaves from our gardeners - by this time in the year there is less than one bag left cos they rot down so far.

[craftymarie]

I normally use bark or wood chippings which keeps the weeds to a minimum. I have used grass cuttings but we don't get enough for this to go far.

One weird thing I used recently was a load of old dried herbs which I found when clearing out the kitchen cupboard. I was going to throw them out but then thought they'd do around my newly planted runners so on they went. Probably not that effective as a mulch but they smell nice