Do you use mulch on your vegetable garden?

[dconklin]

I know many people use mulch on their flower beds and flower gardens, but I don't seem to see many people using it on their vegetable gardens. I haven't in the past, but this year I am using composted mulch around my veggies. My mom got a great deal on mulch and brought me 2 bags. She has used it on her veggies for a couple years now but this will be my first.

Do I need to water less frequently with the mulch? Also when I water the plants, do I need to give them more water at a time now since it has to get through the mulch to the soil? I have put mulch down in decorative flower beds when I did landscaping many years ago, but it was just putting it down and not maintaining the flower beds.

 

[ChanellG]

I think I have in the past... I don't have any vegetables growing at the moment, but I am hoping to get a crop of late season plants going this week. I did mulch my blueberry with a thin layer of compost, followed by a layer of pine needles, and then another layer of compost.

 

[zigs]

It'll certainly help with moisture retention, it can harbour slugs though so if you're using around things slugs like, add some wood ash to it after watering.

 

[dconklin]

It'll certainly help with moisture retention, it can harbour slugs though so if you're using around things slugs like, add some wood ash to it after watering.

Can you buy wood ash at the store? I remember growing up we had a wood stove so we used ashes in the compost, but I no longer have the option of a fireplace. Last year we had some slugs but I didn't see a huge population.

Are they bad for the soil or are they bad because they eat the plants?

 

[ChanellG]

Are they bad for the soil or are they bad because they eat the plants?

They are just a nuisance, but you can use all sorts of things for them from saucers of beer to pennies to diatomaceous earth. The idea is to create an uncomfortable environment for them - slithering across stuff that is scratchy is very irritating to their soft bodies, so they'll avoid any area that is uncomfortable to cross. (The beer drowns them.)

I think most people just burn twigs to get wood ash; you can do that in the barbecue.

 

[dconklin]

They are just a nuisance, but you can use all sorts of things for them from saucers of beer to pennies to diatomaceous earth. The idea is to create an uncomfortable environment for them - slithering across stuff that is scratchy is very irritating to their soft bodies, so they'll avoid any area that is uncomfortable to cross. (The beer drowns them.)

I think most people just burn twigs to get wood ash; you can do that in the barbecue.

I will have to get a fire pit maybe, I live in NJ which is the strictest state for open fires. Pretty much not allowed to have open fires! But yes if you are cooking I believe it is ok like in a little fire pit but not a camp fire type of fire. Our grill is a propane grill so I can't use that.

Slugs are also disgusting so I prefer not to accidentally touch one when tending to the plants. I almost did that last year - ewww!

 

[zigs]

They used to sit on the light switch in the kitchen when I lived in Wales

They don't like hair, it sticks to their bellies, so if you know a friendly barber...

 

[ChanellG]

Hair can blow away too easily. What I would do if I were you is take Narrow strips of wood (if you have a large area) and nail or hot glue upturned metal bottle caps on. You can lay these along side your rows of plants and the slugs won't wan't to crawl over the sharp edges to get to your plants. It's cheap, easy, and eco-friendly.

 

[headfullofbees]

I find mulch to be especially useful when growing brassicas, but I also, like ChanellG, grow quite a lot in tubs, and mulch is helpful in slowing down how quickly these dry out.
A thin layer of sand on top deters slugs, in my experience.

 

[ChanellG]

I find mulch to be especially useful when growing brassicas, but I also, like ChanellG, grow quite a lot in tubs, and mulch is helpful in slowing down how quickly these dry out.
A thin layer of sand on top deters slugs, in my experience.

Does using the sand ever create problems with soil quality when you get ready to use the containers for other plants? I would like to grow strawberries, but I generally use kind of all purpose soil - now I've started to compost - I would get sand, but I don't want to have to amend the soil every single time, etc. Is there anything sand does to the soil that would be bad for plants that don't like sandy soil?

 

[zigs]

Depends on the sand, a silica sand won't interact with anything other than to improve drainage.

If it were a calcareous sand it could raise the ph of the soil though. That's fine for most veg, but you wouldn't want it on your Blueberries.

 

[zigs]

Oh, and its best to use a washed sand, unwashed sands often contain salts.

 

[headfullofbees]

I don't bother washing the sand, the amount of salt is infinitesimal, and would raise the freezing point of the soil anyway.
Sand deters slugs and keeps wind-related evaporation down.
Plants like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers will grow roots there, and they will breathe much better.
Why bother pandering to blueberries, when I can grow raspberries?

 

[ChanellG]

Why bother pandering to blueberries, when I can grow raspberries?

Neither is big on my list, lol, but between them I'll take blueberries. I would really like to grow strawberries so I am going to have to look into the sand thing further - maybe next year. Don't remember it ever coming up for growing tomatoes... I would like to try non-wood mulches (termites!) like peanut shells as I've read pine needles may not always be the best thing either.

Then again, it rains so darn much...

 

[dconklin]

Neither is big on my list, lol, but between them I'll take blueberries. I would really like to grow strawberries so I am going to have to look into the sand thing further - maybe next year. Don't remember it ever coming up for growing tomatoes... I would like to try non-wood mulches (termites!) like peanut shells as I've read pine needles may not always be the best thing either.

Then again, it rains so darn much...

Strawberries are rather easy really. I planted my strawberry plants a couple years ago and each year they are getting more and more growth - even tho I thought I lost them over the winter this year. I notice tho that it takes a couple years to really get more fruit, at least for me it did. Not sure about the sand on them as I have never used it, but in the past I never did anything more then water them when they were dry. This year is the first time I put mulch on them so we will see.

My strawberry plants are the only plants that don't seem to get chewed on (hoping I didn't jynx myself there), tho once ripe you have to pick them quick or something will nibble on the berries. But they don't have holes in the leaves or anything like other plants get from insects.