This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Cucumbers-to mulch or not to mulch?

>I was just wondering if cucumbers like to be mulched or not. I have some
>dried grass clippings left over and I wanted to use them around my
>plants. I usually use the dried grass around my tomatoes and eggplants.
>Can I use the dried grass around the cukes or should I mulch them with
>something else? Is there any kind of vegetable that doesn't like to be
>mulched?

Depends on your climate. Cucumbers need soil temperatures of at least
16 degrees centigrade -- something you get here (and possibly too in NY)
in July and not earlier, with uncovered soil.
There is a big difference between mulching and mulching:
If you cover your soil with black polyethylene, the soil temperature
is higher than with uncovered soil.
But if you use organic mulch like hay or straw, the soil temperature
is _lower_ than with uncovered soil.

If it is warmer than about 15 degrees celsius in the morning
for a couple of days, organic mulch would be good for the plant.
But, heavens, this weeks are rare in the cooler temperate climate,
and cucumbers are definitely warmer climate plants.



Andreas


-------------------------------------------------
VIVIANI Comp   CH-8833 Samstagern    Switzerland
E-mail: viviani@active.ch  Dr. Andreas Viviani
Tel: +41 1 786 11 16    Fax: +41 1 786 11 25
Homepage:  /http://www2.active.ch/~viviani
---------------------------------------

***************************************************************************
To unsubscribe, send to: listserv@umslvma.umsl.edu
the body message: unsubscribe sqft
See http://www.umsl.edu/~silvest/garden/sqft.html for archive, FAQ and more.
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index