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Re: Mulch

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Katherine wrote:
>Well I suppose one of the requirements I have, since it is going inside my
>raised square foot garden beds, is that it decompose and be ready to be
>turned under each year  to enrich the soil. So something sturdy would not
>be what I have in mind.

Katherine -- In my so far brief gardening career I've used -- well,
whatever was handy and most available, including:

* wood chips from stumps we had ground up (mixed with some dirt from the
process -- I was desperate), 
* hay / straw (mine didn't decompose all that well, but I think that's
because we had a severe drought), and 
* grass clippings -- AFTER I let them dry out a bit in the sun so they
didn't turn to slime

I may use some shredded leaves this year in a few areas.

I keep reading that straw is seedless and hay is not. But all the wheat
*straw* I've bought has been anything but seedless. Apparently folks and
feed /seed dealers in my area don't appreciate such a  fine distinction.
:-(    One bale I had left over grew a fine crop of wheatgrass over the
winter. Very pretty. A little odd looking, but pretty. 

Of all these, I think I prefer grass clippings, tho I'm not rabid about
that choice. They're available, lightweight and easy to handle, fine enough
to start breaking down as the growing season goes on, and also lets
moisture through very well, as does hay. Because a lot of our property
isn't *lawn* but simply grassy areas (aka weeds), it's impossible to avoid
weed seeds, but nothing's perfect.

Unshredded dry leaves are to me unattractive and they mat down and can
prevent moisture from penetrating well. Our chipper / shredder makes
shredded leaves TOO small (IMO) -- more suitable, I think, for the compost
pile. But I'll try some anyway. 

I use pine straw only in my landscaping and flower beds where I think it's
fairly handsome, especially when fresh. We have lots of pine trees so it's
just a matter of moving them where they aren't <g> . I definitely wouldn't
want pinestraw in the veggie garden. It does break down very slowly and
would NOT be good to turn under. Add it to the compost pile instead, and
still be prepared to sift it out when the rest of the compost is ready.
Wood chips (bark chips, shredded bark) is also more a landscaping mulch
because it too breaks down very, very slowly. 

Hope this helps.

Patricia
Zone 7b, West Georgia, Pine Straw Heaven


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