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Using mulch in garden
I have just started my vegetable garden. I planted one row and layed paper bags around each plant and covered with Red mulch to keep down weeds and make it look nice. Do you think this is going to be a problem when I go to till again at the end of season. Do I want all that red mulch in my garden.
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I second that. I use straw and it works very well, then I just till it in over the winter.Marlingardener wrote:I'm not sure what "red mulch" is. Is it dyed wood chips? If so, they break down slowly and may be a little difficult to incorporate into the soil later. It also seems rather expensive to me, but then I toss nickels around like manhole covers.
Mulch is very beneficial to the garden because it keeps the soil cooler in hot weather and conserves moisture while keeping plants like tomatoes (prone to soil-borne diseases) clean. You are on the right track by using mulch. Do you have a source for straw? That's a good mulch that you can till in later. Grass clippings are good also, as are chopped leaves.
A well-tended vegetable garden is a thing of beauty that really doesn't need enhancing by expensive, colored mulch.
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Your mulch looks like red cedar? I'd pull it out and use something else instead. In clear places I often use shredded newspaper (dampened) and topped with straw or over wintered leaves..the newspaper eventually breaks down and can be turned under in the end but it really covers the ground and keeps the weeds down and the moisture in. Close around plants I just pull the straw up close so they do get air movement and won't rot the stems.
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