lyndatu
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Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:56 am
Location: Philippines

How to till and water vegetables with plastic mulch?

Hello, there. :D

I've been researching the web for info on starting an organic vegetable garden and I came across an article about plastic mulches. It says that plastic mulches are excellent for keeping the soil warm and moist, and eliminates unwanted weeds. But I was wondering, if the soil bed where the plant is growing is covered with plastic, how can I water and till the soil? Removing the plastic often to water the plants doesn't sound very convenient. Is there a way on how to water and till the soil while using plastic mulch?

Oh, and one more question(sorry for all the trouble) - I also read that when the soil gets too worked up, it becomes compacted and needs to be tilled for oxygen and water to be absorbed. How do you till the soil when the plant has already grown there, while not damaging the roots?

Thanks in advance!

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Don't till! Tilling is something you do AT MOST once a season to prepare the bed. Some people never till. Tilling anywhere near your plants disrupts the root system, chews up earthworms and generally totally disrupts all the lovely soil biology you've been working to establish. If you didn't have the mulch you might need to pull or hoe weeds out from between the plants, but you do that lightly. With the mulch you shouldn't need to. Actually I think what you want is probably not plastic (which would tend to smother the soil, heat it up, and keep water out) but landscaping fabric, which has pores to let air and water through. Then you can just water as usual. People put plastic down on the soil to "solarize" which means to kill all the weeds and weed seeds in the soil, by heating it up and smothering it. That's great for getting rid of the weeds, but then if you want to grow something there, you have to remove the plastic!

Midnight Gardener
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Location: Sacramento - Zone 9

I would not use plastic for a mulch because it's going to heat the soil and cause problems. As for tilling, you need to do that al little as possible because it does more harm than good to the soil. Like the other poster said, once a year if you have to.

lyndatu
Newly Registered
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:56 am
Location: Philippines

Hello and thanks for the replies. :D

I thought frequent tilling was great for plants! Thanks for the advice. Yes, the plastic doesn't sound good because of its greenhouse-like effect that can affect the plant. Landscaping fabric it is then.

Thank you very much!



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