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Mulch type

composted horse manure is great mulch.  It's basically supercharged grass clippings.
 
 
on the same note, I got a bunch of pine bark mulch, I know it's acidic and haven't used it yet...I'm thinking maybe it will be ok for peppers but figured I'd ask first.  I'm sure I can find something else to use it on.  I'm saying...since I already have it and I'm not planning on getting anything else, should I use it on my peppers?  I've heard not to use it on tomatoes but a lot of times the "local talk" doesn't amount to a hill of beans, just hearsay and superstition.
 
I'll 3rd (or 4th...not sure) the vote for cut grass.  If you have grass in your yard, and you mow it, just us freshly cut grass as a mulch.  But do it before it clumps up like it can do when it sits in a bin.
 
The main reason I'd suggest grass for mulch vs wood chips or shredded leaves is that grass will break down over time into a nitrogen rich compost, but wood chips and shredded leaves will break down into a carbon rich compost.  Nitrogen rich composts will help feed the kinds of micro-critters that make gardens happy.  Carbon rich composts feed the kind of micro-critters that make bushes and trees happy (think forests vs grass plains).
 
Then again if at the end of the year, you just scrape the mulch off the top of the garden and get rid of it any of the three would be just fine.
 
turbo said:
I'll 3rd (or 4th...not sure) the vote for cut grass.  If you have grass in your yard, and you mow it, just us freshly cut grass as a mulch.  But do it before it clumps up like it can do when it sits in a bin.
 
The main reason I'd suggest grass for mulch vs wood chips or shredded leaves is that grass will break down over time into a nitrogen rich compost, but wood chips and shredded leaves will break down into a carbon rich compost.  Nitrogen rich composts will help feed the kinds of micro-critters that make gardens happy.  Carbon rich composts feed the kind of micro-critters that make bushes and trees happy (think forests vs grass plains).
 
Then again if at the end of the year, you just scrape the mulch off the top of the garden and get rid of it any of the three would be just fine.
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Aaaaaaaaactualy, rcw will break down into a nitrogen rich amendment where as heartwood (pieces of trees larger than 3in) will break down into carbon rich. This is why rcw is such an awesome addition to a garden.
 
from what I've read rcw is pretty nitrogen poor and carbon rich, with a carbon to nitrogen ration of 30/1 to 50/1, though it does have more nitrogen than larger hunks o wood.  It is often recommended that a garden that is overwintered with rcw be amended with a nitrogen fertilizer , like blood meal, because the soil can end up low in nitrogen.  This is because the microbes that break down carbon require nitrogen in order to do so.  And the carbon ratio is high enough in rcw that the microbes will look for the required nitrogen in the soil.
 
You arent gonna have this kind of problem with grass clippings.  Its cheap, easy, and has a good carbon to nitrogen ratio such that you wont need to amend your soil with anything else.
 
Anything brown has a high carbon:nitrogen ratio but it doesn't matter much for mulch because it's on the soil surface.  Similarly being on the soil surface you have limited decomposition so it won't change soil pH much either.
 
Bark mulch should work fine, and if you till it into the soil at the end of the season and it is kept damp then it will decompose faster than wood chips so you aren't bothered with scraping it off or wondering if it is still leeching nitrogen by next season if tilled under.
 
Grass clippings would work too, or straw... most people just use what is regionally available or waste product due to the economics factor.
 
Proud Marine Dad said:
I use straw hay.
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Have you, or anyone else for that matter, ever experienced leaf drop after mulching with straw (or I guess anything else)?
 
It might just be my imagination, but it seems like my plants aren't liking the idea of 2-3in of straw on top of their soil. I noticed today a few have dropped some leaves and some have yellowing leaves towards the bottom. I applied the straw mulch this past friday and can't imagine it would mess with their moisture levels so dramatically.
 
I'm pretty sure its not an over/under watering issue either since I had only been watering every 2-3 days and they are nice and perky. There was even a week where I didn't water at all because we got so much rain.
 
filmost said:
 
Have you, or anyone else for that matter, ever experienced leaf drop after mulching with straw (or I guess anything else)?
 
It might just be my imagination, but it seems like my plants aren't liking the idea of 2-3in of straw on top of their soil. I noticed today a few have dropped some leaves and some have yellowing leaves towards the bottom. I applied the straw mulch this past friday and can't imagine it would mess with their moisture levels so dramatically.
 
I'm pretty sure its not an over/under watering issue either since I had only been watering every 2-3 days and they are nice and perky. There was even a week where I didn't water at all because we got so much rain.
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No I haven't noticed anything other than I have to water less.
 
filmost said:
 
Have you, or anyone else for that matter, ever experienced leaf drop after mulching with straw (or I guess anything else)?
 
It might just be my imagination, but it seems like my plants aren't liking the idea of 2-3in of straw on top of their soil. I noticed today a few have dropped some leaves and some have yellowing leaves towards the bottom. I applied the straw mulch this past friday and can't imagine it would mess with their moisture levels so dramatically.
 
I'm pretty sure its not an over/under watering issue either since I had only been watering every 2-3 days and they are nice and perky. There was even a week where I didn't water at all because we got so much rain.
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Could it be pesticides on the straw?  I was going to do the same thing with mine since I have to buy a full square bale of hay every time I change out my hens 4 nest boxes.  Then I started thinking about pesticide and or ferts used on the hay.  I tried one plant about a week ago and haven't seen any issues yet. 
 
Could it be pesticides on the straw?  I was going to do the same thing with mine since I have to buy a full square bale of hay every time I change out my hens 4 nest boxes.  Then I started thinking about pesticide and or ferts used on the hay.  I tried one plant about a week ago and haven't seen any issues yet. 

Looks like a false alarm on my part. I think they needed more water than I thought.
 
+1 on the NO dyed mulch...

I use virgin cedar mulch and it works like a charm....it has chunks and some of it is finely shredded and it breaks down...good stuff..
 
I'm always hesitant to use the mulch from around my place unless it comes from one organic nursery.  I know that a friend of mines father had several large mexican food places and always had to pay to have his cooking oil hauled off.  He opened up a bark mulch place, people dumped their brush for free and he made money off of it.  He would also blend the cooking oil into the mulch, dont know if this is common practice or not.  I get all the live oak leaves I can haul from our ranch and they dont break down, I've used them in my terrariums and vivariums for years.
 
Kelp! Mulch with kelp!! 
 
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Thanks Mill and sp33d. Guess ill have to start scraping it off. Hopefully its not the cause of no pods on any of my plants, figured it was the extreme heat as usual.
 
I like to mulch with a local product labeled "Native Mulch" which is lightly composted hardwood chips. The wood is sourced from the city's tree trimming activities. It is sold at the big box stores and is pretty cheap. Gotta love a good public-private partnership.
 
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