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Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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Posted by
danell 7 OR (
My Page) on
Sun, Nov 25, 12 at 19:04
| I've been using custom made compost as mulch but with the advent of our rainy season the weeds have proliferated and it's going to be tough trying to get ahead of them. I have a dry creek bed that is heavily planted on both sides with ornamental grasses, bushes, perrenials, evergreen and deciduous trees, groundcovers . . . what may I ask would be a better mulch? I prefer more of a natural look but the weeds have to be suppressed.
On another note and one that may be better answered in another forum, I had Mexican Feather grass planted early this year but pulled it out within a month or two and now with the rains little babies are sprouting everywhere. Can I expect this to be a continuous problem or do you know of something I can do to rid myself of it? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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it is, or should be, less about which mulch to use then it is about how much. An inch or two of most mulch materials usually will not be enough to halt unwanted plant growth, "weeds" as most people term it. Compost is a very good growing medium so these unwanted plants would find that a very good growing medium as well as any other plant.
Many of us have found that newspaper or cardboard laid on the soil and covered with a mulch material suppresses unwanted plant growth better with less mulch then does mulch alone and we need not lay down 4 plus inches of mulch to aid in unwanted plant suppression.
How thick was the layer of mulch you laid down in that area? |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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| You will have to keep pulling (or dig up and sell) the feather grass seedlings for a couple of years. It produces a lot of seeds, and when conditions are right, spreads invasively. Just yank them BEFORE they set seeds again. |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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| need to use hay mulches, usually the cheapest are spoilt hay or mulch hay or sugar cane mulch, these all work very well for us and as they break down being greens they add many nutrients, we buy ours from produce agencies and some landscape centres. len |
Here is a link that might be useful: lens bale garden
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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| Thnaks. I've heard about using hay and thought about it, it would also provide good insulation in the winter but what about seeds? Does it produce seeds? Will it blow away and/or create a mess when it gets blown around by the wind? Kimmsr, I did not lay down mulch. I used compost as a mulch - therein lies the problem. I could use newspaper but what to use on top of the newpaper? Some kind of bark material? Last time I used shredded bark from old trees but the earwings loved to nestle under it. Options? |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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When you put something down on the soil, as you do mulch material, you lay it down. You could put, or lay, compost down on top of newspaper, you could put, or lay, shredded bark down on top of newspaper, you could put, or lay, wood chips down on top of newspaper.
Given that the price of hay has doubled this year and is in short supply that may not be the best option, although straw might be. Both hay and straw could have seeds that germinate and hay could also have "weed" seeds. Straw most likely will seeds of the grain that straw grew, oats, rye, wheat, etc.
Earwigs, as well as many other insects, like the cool, moist environment any mulch material creates and could become a problem. However, if one understands the role insects play in our world and takes reasonable steps to control them they will not be of great concern. |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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| different types of hays can have seed but this does not mean trouble we mulch at least 6" deep you can do deeper, yes it should act as good insulator against the cold and also hold on warmth and moisture. any seeds that germinate under those conditions are not weeds of course and can be pulled and tucked under for extra nutrients. we have never had it blow around because we use it thick enough, if in doubt give it a watering once you have spread it. never lived in snow areas but for overwintering i reckon i would just lay the biscuits of hay, slabs that is in a single layer or even double or so layer, this should keep the soil below that bit warmer and might mean an earlier start to planting the next season, we used to mulch our ginger heavily before the winter and it always came back the nest season. len |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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| Danell, do you mean that the compost you used as mulch is full of weeds, and now with the rain, they are all sprouting? I have that problem and if you don't hoe them right away, they grow like.....weeds! If this is the case, it might be that they will die off with the winter weather and in the springtime there won't be more seeds to sprout. I get this because I "cold compost" and the seeds live quite nicely. |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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| lol... the "seeds in my compost are sprouting" reminded me. The first year I started composting, I already had a garden full of tomatoes. And the ones that the birds pecked, or went bad before the wife and I could eat (or give away)... well... I just couldn't let them go to waste, could I? So I diligently threw them into the compost piles. Fast forward to November or so. I was so happy to spread my first layer of yummy compost on the garden, and we had a nice week of temps in the upper 50s, lower 60's. One morning I looked out on the garden and thought I saw "peach fuzz"... turns out it was hundreds or thousands of tomato seeds sprouting. Of course, a killing frost a week or so later took care of them... but I had a moment of terror! :-) Oh right... that has nothing to do with this thread... I do what the others have said. Lots of newspaper w/ lots of bark on top works (fairly) well for me. :-) |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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| Since we're off topic with tomatoes, I heard a story somewhere (maybe here) about a young couple who used Milorganite as a soil amendment in all their flower beds. Tomatoes came up everywhere, and some of them produced some nice fruit. The husband figured out why it happened, and when he explained it to his dear wife, she refused to touch a single tomato! |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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| I gotta ask, why not eat the resulting tomatoes? What is wronge with milorganite? Was there carnivore poop in the bed or what? |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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| Weeds are only an indication that your mulch isn't deep (or impervious) enough. Got a weed? Throw some mulch on it until it says 'Uncle'. Most weeds say 'Uncle' the minute they see the newspaper come out. |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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| Thanks all. I've pulled most of the larger weeds, removed the top 1/2 to inch of soil (with the hope of removing more of the dratted feather grass seeds) and will now lay down landscape cloth (easier to get in quantity than newspaper - although I would prefer newspaper because it breaks down and adds something to the soil) and then lay 3-4 inches of shredded hemlock bark on top. That should do the trick. Cheers! |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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- Posted by jolj 7b/8a-S.C.,USA (My Page) on
Tue, Dec 4, 12 at 12:54
| I would use 6 inches of leaves, after pulling the weeds. |
RE: Weeds galore! What mulch to use?
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| Yes, mulches that break down have it all over mulches that don't. |
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