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Best mulch to use this year and turn in next?

H

halo_players_junkyard

I am placing weed mat over the entire garden again year,Last year i got a couple bags of plastic mulch for around a few of my plants and it seemed to work well. I honestly think I had better yields with mulch on top of the weed mat, the issue is Getting rid of the mulch now, or reusing it. So while i decide what to do with it... What could I buy this year to put on top the weed mat to retain moisture and such, keep weeds down and be able to till in next year.

I thought about pine mulch but I really don't want all the sticks in there for years. Thought maybe peat moss, I have sen it used as mulch before but someone said it gets hard and crusty and repels water.... SO I need some more ideas.

Thanks Everyone.
 
Grass clippings work well too, just keep them a few inches from the stems as they get hot as they decompose. Shredded leaves will work great as well. When you turn them under in the fall the worms will love it.

jacob
 
A good free mulch is from your local landfill. From all the tree trimmings, etc. I just went and got 3 truck loads for free. My lanfill had over 1 million cubic feet. They grind it really small so there is no large chunks of wood and it works great. I just till it into the soil in the winter and re-till in the spring and i'm good to go. Just a suggestion! Hope this helps.

Charles
 
Straw works well but needs to be turned/cultivated several times a year or fungus/molds can become a problem. Anyone who's grown mushrooms can tell you that straw is an ideal medium for many types of fungii.
I use a lot of wood chips, sawdust, planer shavings etc as a mulch since it is an otherwise useless byproduct for me. Some people havenoticed problems with termites but so far I've never seen any
 
This year I am doing grass clippings also. Gets the cut grass off the lawn and can also be tilled and mixed into the soil nicely.
 
Wheat straw has never caused me any fungus problems when used as a mulch and many farmers here and elsewhere drill new seed crops into wheat stubble/straw residue after harvesting the wheat in a method known as "no till" planting, which works very well in controlling weeds and conserving moisture.

If you incorporate wood products into your soil, be aware that as the wood decomposes it will consume nitrogen. Pine bark fines are partially composted because of this before being used as an ingredient in potting mixes.
 
I use mostly cedar and pine which take a long time to decompose, especially as a surface mulch and I do add lots of high nitrogen compost. I like wheat straw too but I've seen lots of fungii and mildew grow in it during damp weather and although these fungii are likely harmless, its common practice in these parts to frequently turn/cultivate straw mulches
 
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