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Best mulch for vegetable gardens? Or weed screen?

OhioGrown

OhioGrown

what's everyone's opinion on mulch or weed screen for outdoor gardens? i've used the black weed cloth/screen stuff the last couple years, and if i get it put down pretty decent, i get no weeds coming up at all. I could also use my grass clippings, but not sure i want to go through all that. I would have to rake them up, or use the pushmower to collect them. I also have access to hay bales too.
 
i haven't ever used a mulch in my vegetable gardens except locally around some plants, i used some leaf litter. using grass clippings or hay especially, will just put more weed seed in your garden. i have been interested in the wood chip mulch in gardens along with the no-till method but haven't heard/seen very many sucess stories other than "back to eden" guy out west.
 
i use old newspapers first..spray them down with water as you go. then cover with cpl inches of hay and hardly no weeds at all and its all organic and cheap.

can also use cypress mulch around base of plants and it helps with pests. good luck!
 
I used the weed screen in between my rows with mulch on top (where I walk), and it kept the weeds down but it is a nightmare for the dogs. I have a fence around the garden, but they like to jump over, go around, etc. and they bypass the plants and go straight for the mulch. Next thing you know they are puking mulch on the kitchen floor :crazy:

I also am not a fan of it because when I crawl the rows to harvest, the mulch chips are hard on the knees, hands, etc. When we get a nice storm, they all get thrown around the rows and the cloth gets torn up (no matter how many pins I put in it). I think next go around I will probably pull mulch and just put down the screen. It keeps enough weeds out that it isnt much of a problem. Also, I double plan the rows (one row has 2 plants next to each other for the lenght) and the canopy grows enough to where the weeds by the actual plants are easily manageable.
 
jimhaleii said:
i use old newspapers first..spray them down with water as you go. then cover with cpl inches of hay and hardly no weeds at all and its all organic and cheap.
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I've used the same method for years. Cheap and effective... and you can just plow or spade it under at the end of the season to add to the humus in the soil. The reason I like the newspaper under the mulch is that while it lets air and water in to the soil, it presents enough of a barrier to seeds under or over it that it squelches them as soon as they get started. Seeds under the mulch can't get up into the sun and smother... grass seed from hay mulch for example, can't get their roots into the soil and wither and die in the sun.

For crops that like warmth , like the Nightshades and Cucurbits... I use a black plastic thermal mulch I get from Johnny's Seeds in Maine. Prepare your soil before planting, rake it out even so the plastic has good contact with the soil and stake it down with sod staples. It actually warms the soil a few degrees more than landscaping fabric or black poly sheeting.
 
yeah, with newspaper as first layer, hay is best. i leave it all winter and til again around late march...this gives the worms a nice bed overwinter..just let nature do its thing. i dont like to use pine straw because if you leave it and turn it into the soil, it will drastically increase the soil ph levels. newspaper or anypaper...then 2-4 inches of hay. the paper, for me, was free, and the hay was 3 bucks per bale. took about 10-12 bales for me ....so i had 36 dollars in materials. not gonna beat that anywhere with any other material. plus its biodegradable and acutally good for the soil. provides heat protection during hottest summer months and helps keep soil moist as well. cant go wrong....give it a try!
 
If you have it available in your area, hardwood mulch works well. It takes a long time to break down and provides some nutrients to the soil when it eventually does. The best stuff will be a medium-dark brown from partial composting as it sat in the giant mounds they make. Don't get anything that has had artificial color applied to it 'cuz who knows what that is made from.

I have also had good luck with hay. My grandmother was all about the old newspaper method. I don't like black plastic because when it starts to get torn up it is just a big hassle, and it doesn't do anything for the soil food web, but it is great at keeping the weeds out for a while.

I would definitely NOT use fresh grass clippings. Green clippings actually draw nitrogen out of the soil during the first part of the decomposition process...very bad!
 
I use leaves. I bag up/mound all of my leaves in my garden during the fall and after I plant in the spring I mulch everything with them. I end up with 6 inches of leaves or so which lasts the whole year. It keeps the ground very moist too. Even with a long hot and dry two week spell we had last year the soil under the leaves was still soft and pliable. The few weeds that pop up (mainly thistle) you can pull up in their entirety with a gentle tug.
 
poypoyking said:
I use leaves. I bag up/mound all of my leaves in my garden during the fall and after I plant in the spring I mulch everything with them. I end up with 6 inches of leaves or so which lasts the whole year. It keeps the ground very moist too. Even with a long hot and dry two week spell we had last year the soil under the leaves was still soft and pliable.
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I agree. Closest to the the ground, I lay newspaper around the plants, then comes the previous year's shredded leaves, then eventually comes the fresh grass on top - which is added throughout the summer along with any leftover shredded leaves mixed together.

Like poypoking says, it keeps the soil more moist with very few weeds. Lots of work, but worth the trouble.
 
The work up front saves you the work during the growing season when you would rather just be picking produce and munching. Beats pulling weeds when it is 95, sunny, and at 80% humidity.
 
Have you ever thought of using a cover crop, and growing a living mulch instead? something that will benefit your soil? Sure it will not be that cleanly defined garden with picture perfect edges, but it will be more natural and beneficial. If you use the right crop, and do it well you can get such a thick layer that your pesky weeds are choked, and your left with a 100% green garden.

This past year i just started doing it, as i setup a new garden which is quite wild and surrounded by wild plants. This was my best option as it would be utterly impossible to keep weeds out in my situation. It wasnt 100% successful last year, as i started late.. but i am very hopeful this upcoming season fills out all the pathways etc. I used 2 types of clover and hairy vetch. Be warned i didnt know that vetch is a sprawling plant and will vine out everywhere into your rows. but the clover filled out like a thick lawn in some places. and is adding nitrogen to my crappy soil that i am starting with.

Just a thought. its worth some research.
 
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