I never liked the idea of using plastic mulch and, so, have done without all these years, but this product sounds awfully promising for peppers, melons, and sweet potatoes -- all of which could have used warmer roots last year. Thoughts?BIOTELO Garden Box Compostable & Biodegradable Mulch Film
Description
Created for residential gardens !
The Compostable & Biodegradable BioTelo Mulch Film, made of Mater-Bi, a corn starch based raw material, that is biodegradable and compostable. The master batch pigment mixture used for coloring is also made of Mater-Bi.
Temperature, humidity, and microorganisms in the ground transform BioTelo into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass. There is no toxic residue left.
This mulch has the same mechanical and physical characteristics as the plastic mulch without the negative impact on the environment, and there are no removal, recycling and land fill costs.The complete biodegradability of BioTelo is certified with ECOCERT CAN-USA.
Black Film:
* Eliminates weeds
* Increases soil temperature and allows rapid root growth
* Prevents erosion from water
* Protects fruits and vegetables from direct contact with the ground so the crop remains clean and there are less plant diseases
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applestar
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Cornstarch based film mulch evolved into uses for hay bales
Just came across [url=https://www.duboisag.com/catalog.php?lang=en&product_id=349]this product[/url] in the [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=107388#107388]Stokes catalog[/url]:
Last edited by applestar on Sun Jan 24, 2010 7:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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The Helpful Gardener
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It is not so much the material that worries me about sheet mulches...
Permeability, soil interfaces, gas exchange; what of these things? I know of no benefits to these things from a sheet mulch and do know of detriments.
Increased soil temps? Sure, but where is the thermostat? How is it regulated? At 90 degrees and higher we start to lose biologies, and that ain't NEVER good...
I am not a fan of sheeting, period. Glad to see a greener product for those hwo do, but not on my garden. How would I collect all the wormcasts? Or be sure of equal moisture distribution? I couldn't.
HG
Permeability, soil interfaces, gas exchange; what of these things? I know of no benefits to these things from a sheet mulch and do know of detriments.
Increased soil temps? Sure, but where is the thermostat? How is it regulated? At 90 degrees and higher we start to lose biologies, and that ain't NEVER good...
I am not a fan of sheeting, period. Glad to see a greener product for those hwo do, but not on my garden. How would I collect all the wormcasts? Or be sure of equal moisture distribution? I couldn't.
HG
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gixxerific
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Apple why not just use regular hardwood mulch or grass. I always use nothing but grass, free nitrogen, no weeds. You might have to stir it up every now and then to aerate it but that's no biggie.
The only time I will lay down a plastic sheet or tarp is early spring to help warm the ground up a bit before I plant.
The only time I will lay down a plastic sheet or tarp is early spring to help warm the ground up a bit before I plant.
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The Helpful Gardener
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The Helpful Gardener
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Yeah, hay is loaded with ciliates, a great protozoa to boost your poop loop (they do better in marginal soils with lower oxygen levels, so great for wet soils), high in carbon AND nitrogen; good stuff.
toil, you just need a sheet of plastic and some good hot temps and you can clear ground without herbicides. Pull your plastic, dig it in aound the edge and wait... between a month or two depending on temps; best done in summer around our parts... some mow, but leaving tops lets the plants transpirate and ditch that moisture faster, as well as moist air holding more heat...
HG
toil, you just need a sheet of plastic and some good hot temps and you can clear ground without herbicides. Pull your plastic, dig it in aound the edge and wait... between a month or two depending on temps; best done in summer around our parts... some mow, but leaving tops lets the plants transpirate and ditch that moisture faster, as well as moist air holding more heat...
HG
From a friend of mines site
One organic way to kill off any lingering disease, after a crop has been pulled, is solarization. You prepare your raised beds for planting and then add drip tape. If you don't want to use drip tape, you can just cover the beds after a good rain. You want the ground to be moist. Then, cover the beds with clear plastic, in the summer. This causes any diseases to bake, and die. Leave the plastic on for 4-6 weeks. The farmer who used rain water rather than drip tape kept his plastic on for nine weeks.
One organic way to kill off any lingering disease, after a crop has been pulled, is solarization. You prepare your raised beds for planting and then add drip tape. If you don't want to use drip tape, you can just cover the beds after a good rain. You want the ground to be moist. Then, cover the beds with clear plastic, in the summer. This causes any diseases to bake, and die. Leave the plastic on for 4-6 weeks. The farmer who used rain water rather than drip tape kept his plastic on for nine weeks.
That's a LOT of hay.... Do round bales unroll into a long sheet?-
The Helpful Gardener
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Scales of suburban home and farm are entirely different. Taters leftovers are vast by our yard standards...
Tater, I recently saw a thread elswhere where they were planting taters right in bails and swore by it... knock a hole in the bail, fill with soil and keep pulling the hay in around it; said they wouldn't grow them any other way (they were using squares. Sort of reminded me of my tater towers I did last year... another was building raised beds of old bales. Hay, [url=https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4673361259827571538&ei=nq5ZS4S5JMqUlAfXtf3ADw&q=hay+bale+houses&hl=en&view=3#]some people even build houses out of it[/url]!
HG
Tater, I recently saw a thread elswhere where they were planting taters right in bails and swore by it... knock a hole in the bail, fill with soil and keep pulling the hay in around it; said they wouldn't grow them any other way (they were using squares. Sort of reminded me of my tater towers I did last year... another was building raised beds of old bales. Hay, [url=https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4673361259827571538&ei=nq5ZS4S5JMqUlAfXtf3ADw&q=hay+bale+houses&hl=en&view=3#]some people even build houses out of it[/url]!
HG
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muddy45
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my nieghbor down the road had a heart attack and died in the early summer,,he raised a bout five calves every year.
he had 10 big bales of mixed hay setting down there,so I asked his buddy who was getting the place ready for to be sold if I could buy all ten bales,,he sold me 8 of the ten bales for ten dollars a piece.
I also bought the big tarps he had covering them.
I took 5 of them and made a dog house out of them for my big dogs till I am ready to use them,,I call it my dog cave and they love it.
I had him put one close to my duck pen to use to soak up the duck doo doo in the pen,,gets pretty nasty in there at times.
it well be next years compost or mulch if it don't break down by next fall.
I have had all my beds covered with it all winter ,,we just had a january thaw,so I put another two and a half foot on top of the 2 1/2 ft. I put on in the fall, under all that mulch is a lot of pigeon chicken and rabbit poo composting for spring.
I worked the manure in pretty deep,maybe a foot.
thats my two cents
Larry
he had 10 big bales of mixed hay setting down there,so I asked his buddy who was getting the place ready for to be sold if I could buy all ten bales,,he sold me 8 of the ten bales for ten dollars a piece.
I also bought the big tarps he had covering them.
I took 5 of them and made a dog house out of them for my big dogs till I am ready to use them,,I call it my dog cave and they love it.
I had him put one close to my duck pen to use to soak up the duck doo doo in the pen,,gets pretty nasty in there at times.
it well be next years compost or mulch if it don't break down by next fall.
I have had all my beds covered with it all winter ,,we just had a january thaw,so I put another two and a half foot on top of the 2 1/2 ft. I put on in the fall, under all that mulch is a lot of pigeon chicken and rabbit poo composting for spring.
I worked the manure in pretty deep,maybe a foot.
thats my two cents
Larry
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applestar
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Wow, this drifted way off the original topic, but I'm really enjoying the hay bale discussion this is turning into. So my solution was to re-name the thread! 
Thanks to folks who responded re: the cornstarch based film mulch. Since I've never been in favor of using plastic film mulch, and the consensus here seems to be to go with more substantial OM mulch, AND since I'm heading for a more sustainable practices anyway, I guess I won't bother to buy any, and work on other ways to warm up the soil. (BTW, did you notice that the clear one is ONLY for use with SWEET corn? I wonder if that has anything to do with the corn based weed killer product...?)
Thanks to folks who responded re: the cornstarch based film mulch. Since I've never been in favor of using plastic film mulch, and the consensus here seems to be to go with more substantial OM mulch, AND since I'm heading for a more sustainable practices anyway, I guess I won't bother to buy any, and work on other ways to warm up the soil. (BTW, did you notice that the clear one is ONLY for use with SWEET corn? I wonder if that has anything to do with the corn based weed killer product...?)
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The Helpful Gardener
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Not so far off topic in my mind, AS. Mulching is a choice of alternatives and if plastic style sheeting is your choice, then by all means, choose this new stuff. I think exploring alternatives is still germane to the discussion, and hay is certainly a good one... for mulch, human, or canine habitat it appears... 
HG
HG
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gixxerific
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The Helpful Gardener
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Apple,
When I put out floating row covers in the spring the soil under there is always much warmer. Than ambient. I use mid weight fabric.
I have seen very large rolls for farmers. They allow air and water and spores and such to mostly pass, but keep out weed seeds, flying and surface walking pests, those stupid freaking house sparrows that eat your pea shoots.
you can keep your plants covered until they pollinate. They grow faster. Much faster. And here's my favorite: you don't need to harden off most starts if you plant under a cover. Sweet, eh?
When I put out floating row covers in the spring the soil under there is always much warmer. Than ambient. I use mid weight fabric.
I have seen very large rolls for farmers. They allow air and water and spores and such to mostly pass, but keep out weed seeds, flying and surface walking pests, those stupid freaking house sparrows that eat your pea shoots.
you can keep your plants covered until they pollinate. They grow faster. Much faster. And here's my favorite: you don't need to harden off most starts if you plant under a cover. Sweet, eh?
lol I was just answering... Lol. That is pretty funny.applestar wrote:Wow, this drifted way off the original topic, but I'm really enjoying the hay bale discussion this is turning into. So my solution was to re-name the thread!
...
I guess I won't bother to buy any, and work on other ways to warm up the soil.
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The Helpful Gardener
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