Organic Mulching

I have been trying to fit in as much gardening as I can between all of the much needed rain we have been getting.  My primary focus right now is getting my vegetable garden going.  I did plant some seeds and seedlings but my primary concern this week was getting some mulch down on my garden paths.  I did a lot of work weeding and the last thing I want is to have that be a routine!

I decided that since I had so much mulch leftover from my flower beds that I'd use it in the garden too.  The past couple of years I had stuck with using mostly the wood shavings that they use as pet bedding since my local garden center told me that organic gardeners use it.  It came in huge containers and while I loved it, I did have an issue with it breaking down too fast on my paths and letting weeds through.  It did work really well over the actual soil next to my plants though.  I think part of the issue was that we had tilled a grassy area the fall before the first planting and not all of the grass died or was removed properly.

This beautiful mulch I used is hemlock ... and no, it's not poisonous.  That is a different plant altogether.  I am eager to see if it has any impact on repelling insects.  I did notice it doesn't seem to bother my resident population of spiders.  These little guys move so fast I haven't been able to get a photo but I am thankful for their presence before my vegetables are even growing.  They will help a lot with pests that want to eat my plants.

Mounding isn't complicated and doesn't cost anything!  No raised bed kits and no fussiness.  It's great for drainage, which I have an issue with, as well as helping the soil temperature. I used soil that was enriched with well composted turkey poo!

One other type of mulching I have used was something I learned from a very successful local organic farmer.  He uses no till methods, doesn't even own a tractor and his yields are amazing!!  As you can see from the photos I use mounding as I learned from him.  He mulches between the mounds primarily with leaves.  Yes, leaves do take a few years to break down completely, longer if you have oak, but by the time it breaks down it's ready to be raked up onto the mounds and be utilized by the pants.  I tried doing this myself a few times but my backyard is really flat and the wind cuts across it enough so that all of the leaves were blown out eventually.  When they do stay, they do a great job preventing weeds.

If the mounds do wash down a bit, it's easy enough to re-cut the path by lifting the soil back on the mound as I did here.  This is first time in two years I have had to do this!

I also had great success mulching with pine needles!!  I know what you're thinking... Doesn't that add too much acidity to our already acidic soil?  This same farmer used it around his corn with great success.  When I grew corn a couple of years ago I literally walked down into my woods where a group of pine trees was growing and raked some up.  I put it around all of my corn and the plants didn't mind it at all.  And you know how well it is with controlling weeds!

As for mulch I don't really recommend?  Hay!!  All it takes is a few days of plentiful rain and you will have it growing, and fast! I know people also use grass clippings but if you are an organic grass grower too, there is too high of a chance of getting weed seeds.  And if you're not, you're putting herbicide and chemical fertilized clippings in your garden and it kind of defeats the purpose of organic gardening if you ask me.  You can also use straw but make sure that it is from somewhere reputable.  I used it before and it had seeds in it which completely defeated the purpose!

I have also heard of a method where people put down cardboard as a weed and grass killer as well as a mulch.  Personally, I am not a fan of this method.  Just the thought of all of that glue and ink being broken down into soil that my family's food will grow from doesn't appeal to me.  I'd rather recycle it.  I don't know anything else about it but I would do some research before going that route.

As far as mulching around the growing plants, I definitely recommend doing this if you don't like constant weeding!  As I mentioned, you can use the pet bedding, untreated of course, but expect to have to refresh it during the season.  Ask your supplier for the correct type before you buy it!  The before-mentioned farmer, whose name I will be sure to dig up for you because I am so grateful to him for how much I learned from him, uses literally tons of what you would expect to find in the compost bin.  Lettuce leaves, coffee grounds and even eggs shells.  He has his staff make runs to local restaurants and grocery stores to pick up their non-animal waste "garbage."  I didn't get to ask him if he had an issue with insects but decided to try it myself.  I have to say that it breaks down so quickly in the sun that I didn't have any issues.

Before you try any kind of mulch, make sure you do your research and ask people who have used it.  One of these years I would really like to try growing a cover crop and planting through the dead stalks that are laying on the ground at the end of the season.  I'll bet this would be a great method for growing pumpkins!!