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Ontario, Canada.

Mulch, conserves moisture, blocks weeds and warms the soil to encourage growth.

What do you use for mulch? Organic or man made types?
Grass clippings or Straw? Light or dark? Colored or clear.

I have heard that red made be the best as it reflects a certain spectrum back up the plants.

The attached link is a bit info on some testing results.

http://plasticulture.cas.psu.edu/RedMulch.htm

5/26/2005 12:06:26 AM

Ontario, Canada.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/envirohort/426-326/426-326.html

"Red plastic - Developed and patented by scientists with the Agricultural Research Service and Clemson University, red plastic mulch boosted tomato yields in research plots up to 20 percent, while conserving water and controlling weeds. Red plastic mulch reflects onto plants higher amounts of certain growth-enhancing light waves from sunlight. In 3 years of ARS field tests, red mulch boosted tomato size and weight by increasing the plant's growth above the ground--especially in the fruit."

5/26/2005 12:10:50 AM

Macomb County

Really, mulch has a lot of pros and cons. Anything, including newspaper can be used. I would just warn against shredded bark products. Ants love them, who herd aphids like cows to "milk" the leaves of your plants and the ants in turn gather the honeydew from them. Slugs love hiding and multuplying in mulch and the list goes on from there. I would suggest going more by your soil. I don't use any because my soil is clay and retains too much water at times, if anything. If yours is very sandy, I would say definitely and suggest grass clippings. Unless you have enough compost.
About weeds, let me suggest this. If you just keep cutting them off and don't allow them to gather any food energy from the sun, you'll exhust their food supply and kill them. I use a little gas powered cultivator and make a quick run around my patch with it every day or other day and keep cutting off any weeds I see starting to poke through. Then last, but not least, if they have any strength left, they're no match when the pumpkin canopy puts them in the shade for good.

5/26/2005 12:31:51 AM

Ontario, Canada.

Still more published evidence.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3741/is_n10_v45/ai_20095593

"Red plastic mulch is making life miserable for root knot nematodes in South Carolina tomato fields."

"In springtime field tests at Florence, tomato plants grown with red plastic mulch were able to ward off the nematodes and produce more tomatoes than plants grown with black plastic mulch, say U.S. Department of Agriculture plant physiologist Michael J. Kasperbauer and Clemson University nematologist Bruce Fortnum"

5/26/2005 12:34:40 AM

Canada

I use peatmoss around the base of the plants

dave

5/26/2005 2:01:39 AM

Benton Ky

kahuna check this link out http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-33.html

5/26/2005 6:56:38 AM

Ontario, Canada.

Significant increases in earliness, yield, and fruit quality. That pretty much makes it a slam dunk. So why isn't the whole world beating a path to use this stuff?

5/26/2005 8:03:38 AM

Selbyville, Delaware

My friend grows all organic and is afraid of using the plastic mulch for fear the plastic, under the heat of the sun, will leach into the plants.

5/26/2005 9:30:14 AM

Montoursville, PA

Likely the finest mulch going is hay. Alafalfa likely would be the best.

Any hay is better than manure when it finally composts in place. Nothing has been taken out to support and grow the horse.

What does one get when plastic decomposes into humus and finally humic acid?

5/26/2005 10:18:02 AM

Ontario, Canada.

Has anybody tried red plastic in a garden area? The evidence is pretty compelling. This is the first time in three years of researching topics here at BP.com that I have been able to quickly point to numerous independent studies that back these claims.

Doc, I would not dispute the alfalfa mulch. I am not advocating leaving it down forever. You could Roll it up and save it for next year or at the end of the season simply toss it out in the trash.

I have already placed my order with Lee Valley for three 50' rolls. I will try it on the tomatoes and one of my AGP plants.

5/26/2005 12:13:17 PM

Benton Ky

I use old hay or old straw . My cousin comercially grew tomatoes for several years he tried the red mulch along with the black in the same year. He said he could tell no difference with the red mulch.He produced more than the 2500 box /per acre yield , but I believe it was grown on black plastic mulch only.
The differnt shades of red reading is interesting though Kahuna, could be something to it who knows.

5/26/2005 12:52:14 PM

Macomb County

Tomato Grower, that's what I've heard from every home gardener I've talked to whose tried it. They all said if it did increase yields it was by a small 4% or something.
None of them wet themselves over it.

5/26/2005 6:38:09 PM

Pumpkintown, SC

Not to put a damper on your "compelling evidence", especially after 3 years of trying Kahuna :) but, here is why this Clemson educated Master Gardner doesn't use it..."significant increases in earliness". I for one am seeking just the opposite in my pumpkin's lifecycle. The longer they go before they ripen the larger they get! In fact, maybe in 4 months time I will have perfected this pursuit(look for an increase in my current SC State Record) and then you will understand why my "handle" is SnakeOil! BF <:^)>
PS. Sorry so clandestine...

5/26/2005 11:54:23 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

I thought that I'd seen some "Super Red Mulch" before and could not remember till my Lee Valley magazine arrived today. Check it out at;

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&p=10532&cat=2,2300,33272

5/30/2005 6:46:00 PM