Mulch for The Upcoming Hot Dry Summer

greenthumbomaha · April 1, 2012

Has anyone had a not so great experience with using black weed control fabric as a mulch? After using it one summer, production has been really terrible. Did I kill all the beneficial microbes?

This year I switched gear and purchased red plastic mulch for a different garden area, but now I'm having second thoughts . With the record breaking 90 degree heat we had this weekend in Nebraska planting time may be coming. Hot and dry is predicted for the summer here, and I imagine all over the midwest. Straw did a decent job but left a ton of weeds . I need a new approach. Any suggestions for mulch for water conservation specifically?

- Lisa

Tracydr · April 1, 2012

Last year I used a thick layer of pine straw. I would do that again but I had the yard cleaned recently and forgot to ask the guys who cleaned to bag up the line needles for me. So, I'm using straw with a layer of newspaper underneath. I have no idea how that will work. I'm fighting Bermuda grass and extreme heat.

jerryinfla · April 1, 2012

I use shredded leaves. During the past few months I've collected a couple hundred bags of leaves from curbsides and shredded about half of them so far. I mulch everything with them -- trees, perennial beds and the vegetable garden. They're not only excellent mulch but also add organic matter to the soil.

We lived in Omaha for five years in the early 70's and I'm very familiar with your hot summers -- even hotter than here in Florida just not as long nor humid as our summers.

kath · April 2, 2012

I'm also a fan of shredded leaves and so are the worms.

greenthumbomaha · April 2, 2012

I visited the Tampa area in mid summer and I agree Omaha is hotter. The sun here is very intense. I am originally from the northeast and it seems the elevation here intensifies the heating if the sun. When it is 50 degrees people are walking around in shorts and tees. Not that I am one of them but the sun does warm the skin more so than in New York/New England.

I'll be on the lookout for a leaf shreader on sale. My garage is beyond capacity. Must prioritize!

Rockporter · April 2, 2012

We are here in hot and humid south texas and in the community garden we use the mulch we get from the city dump. They have piles of it from collecting peoples tree cuttings and garden trimmings. We use about 4 inches in our garden beds after the seedlings come up and it keeps the soil below moist and gives beneficial nutrients as it breaks down. We have been very successful with our community garden with the heat here so far. We have not had a hot summer yet but I am confident this mulch will be the best.

b54red · April 2, 2012

I used the fabric a couple of years ago and was not impressed. Weeds still came up under it and it was too hard to keep my soil moist once the yearly drought conditions hit. I even had soaker hoses under the fabric and still couldn't keep it moist enough during the very hot dry times. I have for years used grass clippings and leaves and they worked well under normal weather conditions but seemed not to be as effective at holding in the soil moisture during the hottest months. They were great for the soil because they broke down and added organic matter; but that also meant they needed constant replenishment during the growing season.
Last year I tried cypress mulch for the first time and though it was not perfect in weed suppression it was by far the most effective at keeping the soil moisture levels up and the soil cool. Since last summer was one of the hottest and driest on record for here I was amazed that I didn't have to water as much as in a normal year. I have already started using it again this year. It is more expensive than I would like but I think I saved enough in water bills to make up for the cost. It sells at the big box stores like Lowes for a little less than 2 dollars a bag. I found it most effective when applied about 3 to 5 inches thick. If you can find it in your area you might want to give it a try.

bughunter99 · April 2, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

Has anyone had a not so great experience with using black weed control fabric as a mulch? After using it one summer, production has been really terrible. Did I kill all the beneficial microbes?

This year I switched gear and purchased red plastic mulch for a different garden area, but now I'm having second thoughts . With the record breaking 90 degree heat we had this weekend in Nebraska planting time may be coming. Hot and dry is predicted for the summer here, and I imagine all over the midwest. Straw did a decent job but left a ton of weeds . I need a new approach. Any suggestions for mulch for water conservation specifically?

- Lisa

I always plant through the black fabric in the spring when temps are cool. Then I top the fabric with mulch (in my case cocoa bean mulch) when temperatures start to climb. Weed control and moisture retention are excellent doing it this way.

Dewayne mater · April 2, 2012

Kath

How do you keep the shredded leaves in place? The first decent wind, in other words every day in Spring in N. Tx, we have enough wind to blow away most leaves. I've retained bags of leaves and back in winter I turned some into the soil to start decomposing, but, I'm not seeing how to keep leaf mulch in its place.

Dewayne Mater

kath · April 2, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dewayne mater

Kath

How do you keep the shredded leaves in place? The first decent wind, in other words every day in Spring in N. Tx, we have enough wind to blow away most leaves. I've retained bags of leaves and back in winter I turned some into the soil to start decomposing, but, I'm not seeing how to keep leaf mulch in its place.

Dewayne Mater

I find that if I wet them down shortly after putting them in place, it helps settle them in place a bit. Once DH starts mowing I add a small amount of bagged grass clippings on top, too. I only add a shallow layer at a time, so it has to be replenished with more leaves, grass clippings, shredded mulch hay, etc. as the season progresses and/or as the wind blows.

jerryinfla · April 2, 2012

Dewayne -

Like Kath, I wet the leaves thoroughly after I spread them in the beds which settles them down. They also top out just below tops of borders in the raised beds and that plus the plants the leaves surround keeps them in place very well. We don't have frequent high winds, seldom above 30 MPH or so, but I've never had a problem with the shredded leaves staying in place. Just the other day, winds blew a piece of flashing off the exterior truss of our roof but leaf mulch stayed put in my garden beds. I suspect that whole leaves as opposed to shredded leaves might be difficult to contain in windy conditions.

April 3, 2012

Here in Central Texas, Lowes has a sale on bagged hardwood mulch. It is $1.58 a bag, which works out to about $21 a cubic/yard. That is a pretty good deal. I like the mulch mostly for my flower beds, but I have used it successfully in my veggie garden as well. However, I now prefer to use Pine Needles as they are just so easy to clean up at the end of the season, where most mulches can be more difficult to separate from your grow soil.

April 1, 2012	#1
greenthumbomaha Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Omaha Zone 5 Posts: 2,514	Mulch for The Upcoming Hot Dry Summer Has anyone had a not so great experience with using black weed control fabric as a mulch? After using it one summer, production has been really terrible. Did I kill all the beneficial microbes? This year I switched gear and purchased red plastic mulch for a different garden area, but now I'm having second thoughts . With the record breaking 90 degree heat we had this weekend in Nebraska planting time may be coming. Hot and dry is predicted for the summer here, and I imagine all over the midwest. Straw did a decent job but left a ton of weeds . I need a new approach. Any suggestions for mulch for water conservation specifically? - Lisa

April 1, 2012	#3
jerryinfla Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Central Florida Posts: 377	I use shredded leaves. During the past few months I've collected a couple hundred bags of leaves from curbsides and shredded about half of them so far. I mulch everything with them -- trees, perennial beds and the vegetable garden. They're not only excellent mulch but also add organic matter to the soil. We lived in Omaha for five years in the early 70's and I'm very familiar with your hot summers -- even hotter than here in Florida just not as long nor humid as our summers. __________________ Jerry - You only get old if you're lucky.

April 2, 2012	#6
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	We are here in hot and humid south texas and in the community garden we use the mulch we get from the city dump. They have piles of it from collecting peoples tree cuttings and garden trimmings. We use about 4 inches in our garden beds after the seedlings come up and it keeps the soil below moist and gives beneficial nutrients as it breaks down. We have been very successful with our community garden with the heat here so far. We have not had a hot summer yet but I am confident this mulch will be the best. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

April 2, 2012	#11
jerryinfla Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Central Florida Posts: 377	Dewayne - Like Kath, I wet the leaves thoroughly after I spread them in the beds which settles them down. They also top out just below tops of borders in the raised beds and that plus the plants the leaves surround keeps them in place very well. We don't have frequent high winds, seldom above 30 MPH or so, but I've never had a problem with the shredded leaves staying in place. Just the other day, winds blew a piece of flashing off the exterior truss of our roof but leaf mulch stayed put in my garden beds. I suspect that whole leaves as opposed to shredded leaves might be difficult to contain in windy conditions. __________________ Jerry - You only get old if you're lucky.

April 1, 2012	#2
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Last year I used a thick layer of pine straw. I would do that again but I had the yard cleaned recently and forgot to ask the guys who cleaned to bag up the line needles for me. So, I'm using straw with a layer of newspaper underneath. I have no idea how that will work. I'm fighting Bermuda grass and extreme heat.

April 2, 2012	#4
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	I'm also a fan of shredded leaves and so are the worms.

April 2, 2012	#7
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I used the fabric a couple of years ago and was not impressed. Weeds still came up under it and it was too hard to keep my soil moist once the yearly drought conditions hit. I even had soaker hoses under the fabric and still couldn't keep it moist enough during the very hot dry times. I have for years used grass clippings and leaves and they worked well under normal weather conditions but seemed not to be as effective at holding in the soil moisture during the hottest months. They were great for the soil because they broke down and added organic matter; but that also meant they needed constant replenishment during the growing season. Last year I tried cypress mulch for the first time and though it was not perfect in weed suppression it was by far the most effective at keeping the soil moisture levels up and the soil cool. Since last summer was one of the hottest and driest on record for here I was amazed that I didn't have to water as much as in a normal year. I have already started using it again this year. It is more expensive than I would like but I think I saved enough in water bills to make up for the cost. It sells at the big box stores like Lowes for a little less than 2 dollars a bag. I found it most effective when applied about 3 to 5 inches thick. If you can find it in your area you might want to give it a try.

April 2, 2012	#9
Dewayne mater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 1,212	Kath How do you keep the shredded leaves in place? The first decent wind, in other words every day in Spring in N. Tx, we have enough wind to blow away most leaves. I've retained bags of leaves and back in winter I turned some into the soil to start decomposing, but, I'm not seeing how to keep leaf mulch in its place. Dewayne Mater

April 3, 2012	#12
eltex Guest Posts: n/a	Here in Central Texas, Lowes has a sale on bagged hardwood mulch. It is $1.58 a bag, which works out to about $21 a cubic/yard. That is a pretty good deal. I like the mulch mostly for my flower beds, but I have used it successfully in my veggie garden as well. However, I now prefer to use Pine Needles as they are just so easy to clean up at the end of the season, where most mulches can be more difficult to separate from your grow soil.