yield-harvest Article - Increased Pepper Yields using Mulch

Gudenhot

Gudenhot

Reading "The Complete Chile Pepper" book by Dave DeWitt and Paul W. Bosland I have found some great info. This section is on mulching, possibly mentioned before, is one I thought was worth passing along.

"There is no doubt mulch increases the yield of pepper plants."

"Some growers believe that grass clipping are particularly helpful because thick layers of them can be thoroughly saturated to increase the humidity around pepper leaves and flowers in dry weather. However, this practice sometimes promotes pepper diseases."

Some mulch types mentioned -
"Clear Plastic - This mulch warms the soil by about 10 to 12 degrees F but does not control weeds. Should not be used in hot climates."

"Black Plastic - Excellent for controlling weeds. Black plastic also warms the soil up to 5 degrees F and is good moisture control."

"Foils and Colored Plastic - Louisiana researcher L.L. Black discovered that aluminum foil mulch produced higher yields of bell peppers than ordinary black plastic. Reflective mulches also drastically reduced aphid infestations in peppers, thus lowering the incidence of aphid-transmitted viruses, such as tobacco etch."

"Black's finding showed that plants in plots mulched with aluminum foil yielded 58% more than those in black plastic-mulched plots and 85% more than unmulched peppers."

The above material is only a small portion of the tremendous amount of information this book has to offer. :cool:

P.S. I'm in no way affiliated with this book.
 
I have to agree that "The Complete Chile Pepper" is a great book and a valuable resource. I'm about 40% into it on my Kindle App. This year, when transplanting into my garden, I worked hard to stretch out the roots, as the authors warned that the roots will only reach out in the direction they are pointing. Without stretching the roots sideways, they would have only tried to go straight down, into the hard earth. I'm up to the section on diseases now. Lots of interesting and informative stuff.
 
I remember reading that in The Complete Chile Pepper book. I've been wondering ever since exactly how one mulches with aluminum foil. Doesn't seem like a very easy or practical thing to do. How do you keep the foil in place and keep it from crinkling and tearing? I might try it on a few pots tomorrow and just try to lay some sticks on top and see if that holds it in place. Those pins that are used to hold down sheets of fabric mulch might work if the wind didn't hit the foil too hard and tear it, but that would get expensive buying 4-5 pins for every pot if you have a lot of pots.

I always thought that styrofoam would make a good mulch, especially for pots. I wish I had sheets of styrofoam on hand, I would cut circles out slightly smaller than the circumference of the pot at the top. Then cut a line like a radius with a small hole in the middle, slide it over the main stem, and set it on top of the potting mix. It would completely block out light to weeds, reflect like back at the plant, insulate the roots, and be very easy to remove at any time. And it would be reusable. Those styrofoam peanuts would probably work really well too. Too bad I don't have any of those either. :lol:
 
Avon Barksdale said:
I remember reading that in The Complete Chile Pepper book. I've been wondering ever since exactly how one mulches with aluminum foil. Doesn't seem like a very easy or practical thing to do. How do you keep the foil in place and keep it from crinkling and tearing? I might try it on a few pots tomorrow and just try to lay some sticks on top and see if that holds it in place. Those pins that are used to hold down sheets of fabric mulch might work if the wind didn't hit the foil too hard and tear it, but that would get expensive buying 4-5 pins for every pot if you have a lot of pots.

I always thought that styrofoam would make a good mulch, especially for pots. I wish I had sheets of styrofoam on hand, I would cut circles out slightly smaller than the circumference of the pot at the top. Then cut a line like a radius with a small hole in the middle, slide it over the main stem, and set it on top of the potting mix. It would completely block out light to weeds, reflect like back at the plant, insulate the roots, and be very easy to remove at any time. And it would be reusable. Those styrofoam peanuts would probably work really well too. Too bad I don't have any of those either. :lol:
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Not sure if you have any electronics or furniture retailers near your home. They'd probably love to offload some of the tons of styrofoam they go through.

Funny, i had considered a single sheet of styrofoam "mulch" for one of my manzano plants this year. I was thinking about potting up into one of those thicker, disposable styrofoam coolers, at least 8 to 12 gallons. The styrofoam top cover "could" insulate the manzano roots from the mid-day sun's rays. Or at least that's the way i think it would work. But if aphids don't like aluminum foil, then maybe that would be better. Hmmm.

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Yeah I thought about that. I might try asking one. I wish I knew someone that owned an electronic store, I find it a little awkward asking strangers for things like that. :D

What is it about the aluminum foil that aphids don't like? I assumed it was the reflectivity, if so, I would think styrofoam would have a similar effect since it is also highly reflective.
 
I'm gonna try gluing alum foil onto foamboard in two half-circles for my pots. One or two small stones should hold it in place i would think. It will be easily removable if it gets too hot.

In very hot weather I wonder if it would help (foam board insulating the soil) or hinder (sun reflecting onto foliage) ... hmmmm.
 
menotume said:
I'm gonna try gluing alum foil onto foamboard in two half-circles for my pots. One or two small stones should hold it in place i would think. It will be easily removable if it gets too hot.

In very hot weather I wonder if it would help (foam board insulating the soil) or hinder (sun reflecting onto foliage) ... hmmmm.
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I wanted to try something like that. The only thing I could think of is cardboard, but that would probably mold within a few weeks...

I may just mulch my pots with some bark mulch today. I didn't want to mulch when the monsoon season was happening, but it seems like a good time now.
 
Thanks for the information, Gudenhot! I've added that book to my wishlist.

Several local gardeners talked me in to using what I thought was straw last year. Turns out there is a difference between hay and straw. Hay is filled with weed seeds, which sprouted all over my community garden plot last year within a week or two of putting it down.

I've thought about using grass clippings too, but was worried about all of the bindweed, and other weed seeds I'd be dumping on the garden. My yard is mostly bindweed with a few blades of grass thrown in :(

Bark mulches don't hold up to the wind here, and just end up all over the yard.

I'm wondering with the aluminum foil mulch, how do you get the water to the plants roots?
 
Avon, like Millman said use Styrofoam insulation. You can buy sheets of it anywhere from 1/2 inch thick to several inches cheap. You can find packages of 3/4" pieces 16"x48" with five sheets for under $5 at Menards. I use it to insulate boxes I ship tarantulas in. Should work perfect for you and with three pots to a sheet you could do 15 pots for under $5.
 
I add all the hydrilla/algae/eel grass from when I clean the lake front off. I put it 4 in thick or so and < 2-3 weeks the worms eat it all. Never had nicer lookin plants.
 
Alright, I will try the styrofoam insulation. Too bad I was already at Menard's once today. :oops:

Luckily I live only about 3 miles from Menard's and they hire nothing but really hot girls there. :)
 
windchicken said:
This paper about rebuilding soils using hardwood chips is pretty important, and I believe relevant to this discussion. The photo of crops grown with and without the hardwood chips is telling:

Ramial Chipped Wood article
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Great article, thanks for linking. This fall i was thinking of placing a few bags of pine bark mulch and licorice root mulch on top of each of my beds. Was going to let it sit that way till mid-spring when i would plow most of it under. The stuff is partially composted already so i'm guessing it'll be fully composted by the time i turn the dirt over. I already placed some in a smaller bed, but i did it in the springtime and didn't give it 3 seasons to fully compost. I'm guessing that a layer of ground leaves would be like icing on this humus cake.

That article will probably convince me to try it.

Some Home Depots carry licorice root mulch under the Garden Pro Right Dress brand.



Avon Barksdale said:
Luckily I live only about 3 miles from Menard's and they hire nothing but really hot girls there. :)
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A little motivation is a good thing!!!
 
Avon Barksdale said:
Alright, I will try the styrofoam insulation. Too bad I was already at Menard's once today. :oops:

Luckily I live only about 3 miles from Menard's and they hire nothing but really hot girls there. :)
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I was thinking about using polystyrene containers because of the heat here in Thailand but they leach chemicals.

Here's a couple of links, there are numerous sites saying the same thing.

http://www.way-to-go.org/doc/PolystyreneFactSheets.pdf

http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/polystyrene-stryrofoam-cups-460529
 
Ezzer said:
I was thinking about using polystyrene containers because of the heat here in Thailand but they leach chemicals.

Here's a couple of links, there are numerous sites saying the same thing.

http://www.way-to-go.org/doc/PolystyreneFactSheets.pdf

http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/polystyrene-stryrofoam-cups-460529
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There goes that idea, i may try to figure out an easy way to line the interior, but i won't get my hopes up.

Thank you for the info.
 
This fall i was thinking of placing a few bags of pine bark mulch
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the article suggests using woods from deciduous for best results as conifers(pine/cedar) would not decompose as fast and my even hinder the desired results.

i was looking at wood chips today but i think they were cedar and i didn't know enough about mulching with them, now i know a bit more after reading the article. i wanted to try it in my garden for my tomatoes. guess i would be looking for birch, aspen or perhaps willow. willow contains natural rooting hormone.
 
Burning Colon said:
the article suggests using woods from deciduous for best results as conifers(pine/cedar) would not decompose as fast and my even hinder the desired results.

i was looking at wood chips today but i think they were cedar and i didn't know enough about mulching with them, now i know a bit more after reading the article. i wanted to try it in my garden for my tomatoes. guess i would be looking for birch, aspen or perhaps willow. willow contains natural rooting hormone.
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Ya, i sort of caught that. Was hoping that licorice root and mixed-ground leaves would make up for it. I could always boost the nitrogen with a little bloodmeal sprinkled all over. I could also pick out the larger bits of less composted bark.

I read up on cedar mulch, can't remember the details, but i think cedar and vegetable plants do not mix well. Try to some follow-up research before plunking down the cash. Willow "sounds" like it would work well with it's natural rooting hormones and i think it also contains aspirin's raw ingredient.

I'll say one thing, mulch bags are so inexpensive that it's worth trying, now we're all just trying to decide on the best one(s).


Ezzer said:
Mmmm, a liner, That's a good idea. You've got me thinking now.
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It's probably the only way i would try it, after reading those articles. Once lined i'd gently fill it with potting mix and cross my fingers on my liver's behalf!!!
 
I would say that if you rest the styrene on top of the pot and not on top of the soil you would be just fine. The other thing is evergreen mulch would probably make the mix too acidic.
 
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