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Mulch

habman

habman

What should I buy for mulch?
I need to buy some commercial stuff .
Is the red mulch (cedar I think) anygood?
It will be used for raised beds and container growing.
For peppers and tomatoes of course :)
Main purpose is to keep out weeds.
 
I put Soaker hose down first....then put 6 mil black plastic down. WHen I go to plant my Babys. I just cut a slot big enough for the plants to go in. Guess what.......No Weeds ! ! !
 
I do not get weed in my raised bed :). So I do not mulch specifically for the weeds, but more for moisture control.
What worked for me is newspaper then on top put straws or, fine pine bark mulch. I would not really put Cedar bark, especially some of them have extra color added and Cedar takes long time to disintegrate in the soil. However that could be advantage or, disadvantage. Advantage - since it does not compost fast, so you do not need to change is so often. Disadvantage - it does not condition soil like fine pine bark would.
 
I use weed cloth covered with pine bark mulch. It's permeable so watering through it is no problem, and it lasts for several years. I also do as Potawie does sometimes and put down newspapers, but with my long season the weeds win though before frost.
 
That would depend on a lot of factors including:water pressure, garden size or size of soaker hose, relative humidity, soil and air temperature, soil type, raised or reg beds etc. Some people like to use moisture meters but I just get my hands dirty and feel the soil.
 
Newspaper eh? hmm I don't think I like the idea of putting newspaper in my garden.
So pine and cedar shaving will do. The cedar shaving should be brown? I guess the red stuff is colored and no good.

I have a huge 12 feet high cedar bush for a fence in my backyard would the green cutting be any good? Or is it toxic for growing veggies?
 
Anyone used that red plastic mulch? supposed to be good for tomatoes, i wonder...eh, i don't wanna buy a soaker hose tho.
 
Red cedar is a type of cedar from the west, its not colored. We've discussed the red plastic before and its a bit of a pain to use efficiently.
 
I`ve used the plastic mulch on my job sites.last forever but will hold the moisture to the groud.about 3 times the cost of regular.
 
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