Aug. 7, 2008
Marvelous Mulch
Posted in Homestead Garden and Farm
I know I've posted articles about this topic before, but I am convinced that a good, deep layer of mulch is a must in the garden.
The summer heat is almost unbearable here in the "heart of Texas", and my garden has been the most pitiful thing this year. I finally decided to just give up and wait for time to plant the Fall crops. But, the jalapeno and serrano pepper plants were still living, though I was having to water them every day, and they still looked sad and wilty. I wanted to keep them alive until we move in hopes to transplant them into containers and take them with us.
In a burst of gardening energy one morning before the scorching heat set in, I raked up a whole bunch of dead leaves and other "mulchy looking stuff" from under the trees and brush at the back of our property line. I put a thick layer- at least 6 inches, on top of the layer of cypress mulch already in place, around the pepper plants. When I first put it down, it was about halfway covering the plants themselves, but after watering it wasn't quite so tall. I watered thoroughly, making sure to soak not only the mulch, but the soil underneath.
I kid you not, those pepper plants look so much better, and haven't wilted since! I've even gone a few days without watering, and they are not only thriving, but setting fruit again.
I've always mulched, but since I've bought bagged mulch in the past, I didn't mulch quite so deeply. From now on, I'm going to be more thrifty and rake up whatever looks "mulchy" in my yard, and perhaps offer to rake a few neighbors leaves come Fall, too!
Mulch your gardens thickly! Your plants will thank you.
Blessings,
Catherine
Comments
Aug. 9, 2008 - free mulch
Posted by pljammie
I have a friend that asks the mulch trucks to dump their load at her house when she sees them along side the roads trimming the trees. She got a whole load of mulch for free. So you may want to be on the look out for the tree trimmers on the sides of the roads. :-)
Mrs. P
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Aug. 9, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by GrandmaRosie
So true! I lay down a thick layer of cardboard ( free at wal-mart) then mulch on top of that with what ever I have. I save leaves from raking, buy hay when it is cheap ( got 30 bales for $1 a bale recently) and what ever it takes to keep things covered. This Texas sun can kill anything!
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Aug. 11, 2008 - Mulch in different climates
Posted by ZookeeperCat
Yep, that is definitely a need I've heard about with southern gardens. However, up here in the north (Canadian prairies), we have to be careful what we mulch. We do have the heat for one short month in the summer, but mulching the hot-weather crops can actually slow them down so much that they don't produce by the season's end. But then, we don't plant out till the last week of May, and we can have first frost by the last week of August, and usually within the first two weeks of September.
Glad your peppers recovered! There's nothing like 'em.
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Aug. 12, 2008 - compost
Posted by Emily
Hi We live in central Texas, and have found mulching to be a great tool in water conservation for our plants. It helps to protect the soil too.
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Aug. 14, 2008 - gardening
Posted by canadianroxieg9
Hello I too am from northern Canada~~we mulch very very little as it is quite wet and when it is dry we are Praising the Lord for it and just water what needs be maybe put a light mulch down ~~we can get frost everymonth of the year here in northwestern British Columbia~~it is quite interesting to see others thoughts on gardening and see what they have to deal with like hot and dry. Our garden is producing greens like crazy right now and we cover it every clear night and have saved the zucchinis so far from the frost. Happy Gardening to you!!
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Aug. 20, 2008 - Thanks...
Posted by CatherineAnn
for your comments! And thank you ladies from the Northern regions for your input on Not Mulching :) . That's good to know, and I didn't have a clue obviously LOL!
Hope your gardens flourish,
Catherine
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