Mulch question...HELP!!!
I'm a second year veggie gardener and struggling with the whole mulching concept. I've heard and read that wood mulch is not good to use for many reasons. However, out of desperation I'm about to turn to it because I can't find anything else. Where is this straw or seedless hay that everything raves over? I don't have availability to grass clippings or leaves. Can anyone help me find straw or tell me that wood mulch is not so bad?
as long as the wood chips are aged well you wont have problems.
the reason some say not to use it is because if you use fresh wood chips, naturally they are going to want to decompose. in doing so they( the fungi and bacteria) will need nitrogen, and the quickest place to get it is from the soil where your plants are growing( if you apply there) aged chips don't have that effect, and aged enough they can add nutrients and life to your soil.
the reason some say not to use it is because if you use fresh wood chips, naturally they are going to want to decompose. in doing so they( the fungi and bacteria) will need nitrogen, and the quickest place to get it is from the soil where your plants are growing( if you apply there) aged chips don't have that effect, and aged enough they can add nutrients and life to your soil.
If you are getting your mulch from a store you could get bags of compost instead of wood chips.Or if you like the look of the wood chips,put a couple of inches of compost then the wood chips on top.Also some of those stores will have straw,or find a feed store or nursery in your area.Ask around.I found a place to buy compost by the truckload by asking when I was getting a haircut.
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Yeah, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a bale of hay. One thing you can do is look in your phone book under "animal feed" or "livestock feed" or you can just take a drive out, into the country, find a farm, and ask the farmer if you buy a few bales off him or ask him where he gets his hay/straw.
Good luck.
Good luck.
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