Mulching my allotment

[mw80]

Hi

A quick question. I am in my first year of owning an allotment and i a currently planting out my first plants....

I have read about the benefits of mulching (weed suppresent, moistur retainer etc). I was wondering which plants should i apply mulch aroun and what should this mulch consist of? I live in the UK and i hope t grow all types of different veg this year including beans, brassicas root veg, various salad leaves. Most of the plot is open but i als have two large raised beds

It might sound daft but if i apply mulch won't this restrict what i ca plant or can i just plant through it?

Thank

-- mw80

[The Cook]

I just finished putting grass clippings around my Swiss chard, cabbage and broccoli. I always put grass clippings around also everything. If you put some mulch down now and want to plant later, just push the mulch aside and put plants in or clear a row and seed. After the seeds get started good, put the mulch back over.

[FarmI]

You can mulch around everything, but there are a few things to consider. For very tiny seedlings, I use rice hulls which is the husk of the rice grain so is very tiny and I scatter it thinly until the seedlings get to a decent size and can take a more robust mulch. For things like corn (do you call that maize in the UK? - anyway, the plant that gets over 2 metres and grows cobs of corn) I use very robust mulch (hay/straw/old leaves - whatever is to hand and sometimes have it as thick as 30 cm. Some plants don't like mulch right up to their stems but things like tomatoes and corn thrive on it and actually grow more roots out into the mulch if conditions are right.

Also mulch any fallow beds to prevent weeds and to feed your worm population and then when you need to plant, just scrape the mulch back with your hand and you'll probalby find that the soil is so friable you won't need to do anything other than to loosen the soil with a hand fork.

[George.com]

for fallow gardens I use plant residue. Example, corn stalks once harvested or sweet potato or broccoli. Harvest and then spread rest of plant across the garden. I also use old coffee grounds several inchs thick on beds lying fallow over winter. You can mulch a garden bed and put transplants direct through the mulch or with larger seeds (eg corn0 I have seen people plant them into a handful of fine compost nestled into the mulch (hay/straw).

rob