Using mulch in garden

[missbeckyfishin]

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.

[missbeckyfishin]

Thank you for you information it is expensive. Maybe I will go with straw.

[mattie g]

I use hardwood mulch from the local nursry. It's not terribly expensive, but then again I don't have the biggest garden in the world. Last year's mulch broke down quite a bit by the time I was ready to plant this spring, which I assume can only help the overall fertility of the soil.

[nosta]

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.

I second that. I use straw and it works very well, then I just till it in over the winter.

[Ruffsta]

I'm not sure what "red mulch" is. Is it dyed wood chips?

[missbeckyfishin]

Yes..it is red chips

[rkunsaw]

I use wood chips for mulch around trees and perennials where it won't be tilled into the soil. I use chopped leaves or grass clippings in the garden. I also have some old carpet strips that I put between rows to help keep weeds at bay.

[Timlin]

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.

[missbeckyfishin]

I heard the newspaper ink might not be good. It could get abosorbed in vegetables.

[Timlin]

I'm assured that the black ink in newspapers is easily bio degradable and not a problem at all in the garden. Someone better be telling me the truth because I've been using it for years while I don't use chemicals of any kind.

[ruggr10]

Seaweed/eel grass is free and I use a ton of it.

[missbeckyfishin]

What about milfoil. I guess thats like seaweed.

[hit or miss]

Most print ink today is soy derived, or so I have read!

[lovely_star]

Where can I get straw from for mulching? I live in long island but I would think it would only be indigenous to my area during the fall season.

[Kenzie]

Most print ink today is soy derived, or so I have read!

My husband works for a regional phone book and he assures me that their books are 100% biodegradable and non-toxic and says the same about newspaper ink (as long as it's not glossy)...lets hope he's telling the truth