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Thread: Mulching
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2nd September 2017, 08:10 AM #1Senior Member
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Mulching
With Spring upon us, it is time to set to and get a vege garden going.
Just wondering if the 'gardening guru's' can tell me which is the best to use, 'straw' or 'sugar cane' mulch. I am planning on growing some potatoes and sweet potatoes and also tomatoes for starters.
I am situated in the Gold Coast Hinterland and would welcome any advice that you can give.
Thank you, cheers, Fred
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2nd September 2017 08:10 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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3rd September 2017, 01:33 PM #2SENIOR MEMBER
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G'day Fred , I've been looking at wheaten straw (large squares). I tend to lean towards bales that have some age and exposure to the elements (not easily blown away by a strong gust of wind and already starting to break down). I also use newspaper underneath the straw, the worms love it, a great weed suppressant.
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3rd September 2017, 04:16 PM #3
Lucerne hay is one of the best mulches for veggie gardens as it provides the most nutrients when it breaks down. Normally it's the most expensive though, but there are times when farmers are wanting to offload spoilt or 2nd grade bales for really good prices. Prime lucerne is mainly for livestock and overkill for mulching purposes, not to mention rather pricey.
Sugar cane mulch is a good conditioner but like straw, doesn't add much in the way of nutrients. Just make sure the sugar cane is sufficiently shredded as I can mat and prevent water from reaching the soil.
Having said that, we use a fair bit of sugar cane mulch as it's readily available here in SEQ and turn it in every now and then.
Potatoes and tomatoes are very hardy and require very little TLC. We are constantly finding tomato plants popping up around the property from birds and other critters.
Tomatoes require more water and organic matter than potatoes. Make sure you keep the water up and add a few splashes of Seasol, especially when the tomatoes are fruiting, and you should have more fruit than you know what to do with. Staking and pruning each plant will give you more fruit than if you let the plant grow wild.
What variety of tomatoes are you planning on growing? The larger fruit variety are more susceptible to fruit fly, so it's something to consider if you don't plan on netting once the fruit is on the way.
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3rd September 2017, 08:48 PM #4Senior Member
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Thank you Huon and Junkie.
Some good ideas there, so will put them into practise and report back in due course with the fruits of the garden.
Cheers, Fred
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4th September 2017, 07:50 AM #5
I'm not much of a gardener but I've used cane trash and find it quite coarse and doesn't break down quickly. The scrub turkeys however love turning it over for me and rearranging it into piles on the lawn.
I get mine from one of the farms on the Tweed Valley Way on the road to Murwillumbah (look for a small shipping container by the side of the road), larger bales and cheaper than a retail outlet. I thought of running it through a mulcher before using it on the garden but it clogged up.Franklin
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4th September 2017, 08:07 AM #6Senior Member
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Thank you Fuzzie. Much the same here with the scrub turkeys always very helpful. I am going to try the old lucerne bales this time as the nutrition value is what I am after.
Cheers, Fred
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4th September 2017, 12:22 PM #7SENIOR MEMBER
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Fred, if you're thinking of putting in some carrots at a later date, leave an area that hasn't been enriched with fertilisers and sandier the better and not too much mulch. At least on top of your rows. If the soil is too rich your carrots will most likely fork looking more like a ginger root.
Beware of hay, usually full of seed.
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4th September 2017, 12:48 PM #8Member
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Have a look at Aspirin tomatoes on the net as this will help not only tomatoes but a lot of other plants at planting and later as a foliar spray.
And the next time you buy your wife flowers put an aspirin in the vase water and they will last longer. Haha
I have been using aerated liquid manure on my veges and flowers for a couple of years now and the results are better. There are sites on the net explaining how and why and try to use non scheme water or water that has been left open to the atmosphere so the chlorine can escape as this chlorine kills the microbes that are necessary for the plants to convert fertilizers etc to help them grow.
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4th September 2017, 06:28 PM #9SENIOR MEMBER
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I tried hay once, and will never use the stuff again.
Might have been a bad bag, but ended up spending weeks after using the mulch "weeding" out the hay that was growing in my garden beds.
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4th September 2017, 08:36 PM #10SENIOR MEMBER
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It wasn't a bad bag, Hay is the top end of the plant ;seed and upper foliage, straw is or should be the stalk of the plant (very little seed).
In other words don't use hay as mulch unless you enjoy weeding.
But whatever you use you should be aware that over time you are improving or adding to the humus of your soil. That is the key, healthy critters working with you.