Mulching tomatoes

[brandon558]

I just put some plants in the ground today and was wondering if putting mulch around them helps?

I have seen in pictures where people use hay, is this a good way to do it? Or would it cause weeds?

I also read somewhere that pinestraw is good for strawberries but not tomatoes? I guess becaus of the acid in pine needles?

Any input?

Thanks

[rainbowgardener]

Yes mulch is very helpful to tomatoes. Helps keep the soil moisture more consistent, which they benefit from, and it makes a barrier between the soil and the plant, helps prevent soil borne diseases.

Hay should work.. even if it does sprout some weeds, they will be loose and easy to pull, but so would straw, grass clippings, leaves, shredded paper, or whatever organic stuff you have available.

[gixxerific]

I second third and foruth what Rainbow said. Mulch on Tom's is very important. Main reason being to reduce the chance of soil born disease.

I use grass, hay mainly. If you have weeds my solution is to pull the weeds and add more mulch to choke out the wanna-be's.

[applestar]

This probably won't be an issue for the OP's location, but when I'm planting out tomatoes as early as I can in spring, I leave them unmulched until the weather gets good and warm -- until the last of the cukes, beans and squashes go in. This way, the mulch won't shade and keep the soil around rhe tomatoes from warming up.

[brandon558]

thanks for the feedback...I have plenty of grass clippings...might get some straw too.

[donsabi]

I suggest you use only straw for mulch. You never know what seed you will introduce to your garden when using hay. Grass clipping can give you a lot of grief also.

[RickRS]

Isn't there a possibility of grass clipping locking up nitrogen as it starts to decompose?

[ruggr10]

Grass will bring more nitrogen... wood chips tend to hold it up.

[lovely_star]

Could I use cedar mulch and newspaper for my tomatoes?