|
|  |
Mulch Vegetables-FAQ |
Questions:
·Should I mulch my vegetable garden?
·What is a good mulch for the vegetable garden?
·When should I apply it?
Minnesota Master Gardeners say:
A mulch is beneficial to your vegetable garden in several ways.
Mulches moderate soil temperature and moisture, prevent weed
germination, and reduce
disease. Eventually mulches can be incorporated into the soil, thereby
increasing the organic material in the soil.
To be most effective, a mulch should be put down around heat loving vegetables
(such as tomatoes and peppers) after the soil has warmed, sometime in June.
For the cool season crops, the mulch should be applied in early spring.
There are several possible mulches for vegetable gardens.
All these mulches should be put down around heat loving vegetables
such as tomatoes and peppers after the soil has warmed. They can be put
down for the cool season crops in early spring.
Maybe the best choice for a mulch is partially decomposed compost.
It doesn't tie up nitrogen and it decomposes in a season. After
it decomposes, you can just till it into the soil.
Grass clippings can make a good mulch for your vegetable
garden if mixed with something else, such as compost. A mulch
of entirely fresh grass clippings can smell and might actually inhibit
moisture and oxygen penetration into the soil.
Do not use grass clippings as a mulch if the lawn has recently
been treated with herbicides. Do not use grass clippings
with a lot of weed seeds in them.
Wood chips can be used. As wood chips decay, they tie up nitrogen.
As long as the wood chips are loose on the soil surface, that
won't be a problem. But if they work themselves into the soil and
begin to break down, we'd recommend adding some extra nitrogen.
Their big disadvantage is that they won't decay
in a single season. If you plan to rototill or cultivate in the spring,
it would be best to rake them out in the fall. You could use them again
next season.
Other choices are chopped straw (make sure that it is weed-free, and you may
have to add some more nitrogen), shredded leaves (nitrogen again), or
even newspaper (no glossy colored sections).
Another possibility is landscape
fabric. This is an excellent "mulch" around vegetables susceptible to
fungal diseases, such as tomatoes. You can use landscape fabric as is,
or in conjuction with another mulch. You can use it for several seasons.
For further reading,
Mulching and composting:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG3296.html
Mulching the home landscape:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h139mulch.html