To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] straw mulch
Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 11:58:52 -0700 (PDT)
Around each tree, I removed the old mulch and loose
weeds, and put a layer of manure or compost, a layer
of cardboard, then a layer of straw. By the following
spring, the grass is starting to come through/grow in
the cardboard and it needs to be redone. The
cardboard is pretty effective at grass supression -
with thick straw alone, the following year it's
reverted to pasture.
The evil creeping grasses pop up around the trunk
(inside the cardboard), but (in theory) the feeder
roots are around the drip line and grass right next to
the trunk should be okay.
I've been trying to establish various clovers to
compete with the grass, but the grass is winning.
Lisa in Ashland Oregon
USDA Z7 - Sunset Z7 - 1800' - 19" annual rainfall
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