Greetings all my question is my garlic plants are covered with 6" of straw they are starting to pop out of the straw should I remove the straw or leave it for weed control. thanks
Harry
zone 6 new york
18 days till springLeave it. Removing it now will either damage the garlic plants or at least make them floppy. If they are making it through the straw OK, it should work out well leaving it as mulch.
Steve
harry411 wrote:
il 4 Mar 2004 14:08:50 -0800, snipped-for-privacy@att.com (harry411) ha scritto:
I'd say keep it for mulch. One wonders how much energy went into that extra growth before seeing light. But now they're there, may as well leave it.
Never used it and never had a problem in New York, zone 5. If it's there though maybe I'd leave it, less work that way! ;-)
Well, I guess we're all agreed on that one. :-)
Steve Calv>
I wonder if I should have done that. I planted my garlic in september, and they're growing alright, but I wonder if the mulch idea provides "better" garlic?
Luckily, I've had very little problems with weeds since I started with my raised beds. The weeds I had beforehand were mostly root-spreading, and the pathways cut their propogation down amazingly quickly.
Is it general advice to mulch garlic? If so, how soon after planting? Should I wait for the garlic to start shooting? Is straw the preferred mulch, or could I use organic kitchen waste (as a short-cut to composting) covered by wood shavings?
Kae
you probably should have done that. As you note, weeds can be a problem for garlic, so the mulch helps. Also, garlic needs consistent moisture during its maximum growth period (April-June), and that is helped by mulch as well. Yes, it is general advice to mulch garlic in the fall. Just use mulch that shoots can penetrate (that is, wood chips or straw). Large leaves, if matted, can prove too hard for garlic to poke through.
Well then I will leave the straw where it is as for when to mulch the garlic I did it right after I planted it in October and was surprised to see it pooping thru so early in the season thanks all
Harry zone 6 new york
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