Cottonseed Hulls

[elkwc36]

Has anyone used them as a mulch? And any advice? We have a gin in our area now and I got some. Trying them on my potatoes and around a few tomatoes. Also wondering how they will affect my soil when I work them in? Thought they were worth a try being they were cheaper. Jay

[peppereater]

Hey again, Elk.
Cottonseed hulls make a good mulch but break down very quickly, so you'd have to reapply more later. They are supposed to be a good source of nitrogen when turned under in the fall. You might want to put down a small amount of blood meal or other nitrogen before mulching as un-composted mulches can tie up a bit of the soil's nitrogen until they break down. There is a chance that they'll have pesticide residue, but these won't be at harmful levels. Organic gardeners tend to avoid them for this reason, though.

[Althea]

Cottonseed is acidic so it is best used for fertilizing acid loving plants. As Dave said, organic gardeners like me won't use conventionally grown cottonseed meal because of pesticide residues.

[elkwc36]

Thanks to you both for your input. I'm mixing it in with other mulch and won't actually till it under till this fall. Was asking before I used much more. I can get it reasonable here. But didn't want to add too much if it was going to be a problem. Can understand the pesticide concerns but you can find some of that in some hay. They do use lots on cotton. So just have to be careful. Jay