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  • From: "Alliums" <garlicgrower AT green-logic.com>
  • To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Abandoning plastic mulch
  • Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 10:06:06 -0500


Hi, Folks!

Here's what I do in Southeastern PA, although I don't do nearly the volume
the CSA folks do. . .

Scott Breneman wrote:

<<is this foolish..? will the tomatoes all die from soil-borne diseases>>

If you have a thick straw or hay mulch, they should be fine.

<<the peppers not do well>>

My peppers are either sweet or paprikas -- I've found that enough calcium
(eggshells) and Mg (Epson salts in the planting holes) are more important
than heat to peppers doing well. I mulch them with the same straw or hay (I
get mine from a horse boarding stable, so it depends on what's been "used"
or unfit for the horses). Hot peppers might be different.

<<the sweet potatoes not get enough heat....>>

You can leave your sweet potatoes out and the deer don't devour them??? (Can
I exchange my deer for yours? ;-)) I HATE row cover, but sweet potatoes
seem to love it -- it gives them heat and total deer protection. You do
have to whip it off sometimes to make sure the voles aren't living in there
-- a protected food source is just heaven for them, but if you have cats or
a good dog, they'll find the nests quickly and then you can put the row
cover back on.

My impression is that plastic mulch is a time-saver as much as it is a heat
source -- if you have the time and labor, you can abandon it, at least in
the Mid-Atlantic, but those are big "ifs."

Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth

A mission of
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460






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