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  • From: road's end farm <organic101 AT linkny.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Mulch
  • Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2007 11:49:02 -0500


On Dec 3, 2007, at 10:45 AM, TxBeeFarmer wrote:

I'd like to try putting down mulch over my garden to reduce weeds and help
the soil. It's about 3 acres, but I'm really not sure how to get it done.
Also not sure how to plant a garden on it.

Let me explain a little about my location, the soil, and how the garden is
taken care of now. It's in west Texas with a rainfall of approx. 17
inches/yr. with very little or no irrigation because the water must be
hauled in. The soil is a sandy loam that tends to develop "hard pan" if not
plowed. So, each Winter the stalk residue is shred down and disked lightly
to turn everything under. In the spring, it's deep disked, then plowed to
create 36 inches rows. Planting is done with a 4 row buster planter on the
bed. Weeds are either hoed or plowed using knives or sweeps.

The only mulches available are large round bales of oats, hay grazer, red
top cane, alfalfa, or similar. It's not practical for me to get mulch from
town. I don't have a dump truck and they don't deliver.

So it looks like hay is my only choice.
But, how can it be put down and how do you avoid growing a field of whatever
kind of hay is put down? And how do you get it down? Should I disk before
putting the mulch down? Should the mulch go down in the Fall or in the
Spring? How deep should it be? How can I make rows and plant without
covering up the mulch? Should I row it up, put the mulch down, then plant?
As you can see, I'm having trouble understanding how this is done? Seems
the devil is in the details.

Perhaps I'm looking at this all wrong. Need some help here folks.

Thanks for your help.

TxBeeFarmer (Mark)
West Texas Zone 7b

I was hoping somebody in closer to your situation would answer this, but it doesn't seem to be happening; so I'll put in what I can.

I can't help too much on most of this as I've never mulched with large round bales. I have seen people roll them out down the rows by hand, several people needed; this was after the crop was in the ground, the bales were being rolled out down the aisles between the crops.

There is some equipment made to chop up straw and blow it into desired location. I don't lay enough straw to justify buying the equipment, so I spread small bales by hand. I don't know whether it's designed to work with large bales, but large bales are common enough that I expect that some of it is. If you're spreading on the whole 3 acres, it might be worth the expense.

Whether you put mulch down before or after planting depends partly on the crop being grown. I think some people transplant out into mulch. I think most direct-seeded crops would have trouble coming up through it if it's thick enough to discourage weeds at all. Garlic will come up through straw, at least if the straw is shaken out some as you put it down; straw in this case is applied in the fall after planting. Straw on strawberries usually goes on over the top of the plants for the winter in this climate, but most of it needs to be pulled back into the aisles in the spring when berry plants start to grow again.

Maybe a no-till planter would work? Maybe you could roll bales out so as to leave a narrow gap where seed can go?

As to avoiding growing a field of hay: that's why around here straw is generally used instead. Is there any way you can get bales of straw instead of hay?

I do think that, if you can find a way to do this, it'll help a good deal with the lack of water, as well as with soil tilth.

In my experience, weed growth is slowed down at first, but if you have significant weed pressure weeds will eventually come up through the straw. They'll be a lot easier to pull, though. Thicker straw discourages weeds better.

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale



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