Has anyone had experience using creeping Charlie or forget me not aka scorpion grass as a living mulch? It voluntarily grows in my garden and my tomatoes are big enough that it works really good at keeping the ground covered which keeps soil cooler, retaining moisture, and keeps the surface biologically active. I don't worry about it stealing nutrients because I use diluted urine to fertilize my garden so often.
Living mulch
- Thread starter Lamia
- Start date
I guess cover crops would be considered a living mulch, so I don't know why you couldn't use the plants that you have. If it works for you, I say keep doing it. Tomato plants roots probably go deep enough.
I use hardwood mulch (no dye) around my tomato plants. I also use a lot of straw and some grass clippings around other plants. However around my bean plants I pull all the weeds because bean roots don't go very deep.
I use hardwood mulch (no dye) around my tomato plants. I also use a lot of straw and some grass clippings around other plants. However around my bean plants I pull all the weeds because bean roots don't go very deep.
If it works then it sounds good to me! I use a lot of alysum for the same purpose and the polinators love it. I also use (or rather, it happened naturally) borage early in the season. It self seeds like crazy and early in the season when the beds are bare I get literally hundreds of little borage plants. I just let it grow, ripping it up when my plants are established and the borage is starting to get in the way. I leave a few to flower which brings in the pollinators. The plants are great for composting when I'm done with them. Another benefit is that it's quite a stiff plant and provides support and wind protection for young seedlings.
I stumbled across this article today which talks about using various wildflowers as green manure - in this case for the winter garden. It includes batchelors button, calendula, poached egg plant, poppies etc
Green Manure Crops for the Winter Garden
Growing green manure crops at the tail end of the growing season restores overworked soil, prevents winter weeds, and few sights are prettier than a lush green manure crop growing in a spare winter garden...