This is my first year gardening, and I direct sowed all of the vegetables you see here. I’m seeing a lot of posts on mulching, and I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong but NOT mulching. Does anyone else not mulch their gardens and still have decent harvests? I was not expecting much for my first year, but I think these guys look pretty good so far?
by j_parker44
33 Comments
I never used to mulch because I couldn’t handle the idea of spending money on buying mulch. This year I started mulching with grass clippings and let me tell you it helps tremendously. If you can handle buying EZ Straw or something like that go for it, personally I just can’t afford it. But it has cut down on watering for me a ton. I only just recently swapped in my summer crops so time will tell on how it helps quell soil disease etc but so far it’s been great for keeping moisture in and weeds down.
I didn’t mulch until this year, honestly the weeding constantly is so much work so I’m hoping this will reduce them a bit. We will see I suppose. But no I don’t think you NEED mulch. But also if you want mulch you can look into chip drop and see if that’s an option (it’s free but you get what you get so do your research before you sign up lol)
I dint then I started using grass clippings, and pine needles, huggee difference, i also used some crushed fall leaves this year. Consistent moisture in the soil
I mulch depending on the plant and how I have them set up. My cantaloupe I trellis horizontally about 2 feet above the ground and the canopy acts as mulch. I also plant vining squashes at the end of my long beds and allow them to run and cover the ground under plants. I do place a little pine mulch around the base at planting just to keep moisture at the root line until they get deep. I have the luxury of a wood mulch pile that can sit for a year+ to pre-decompose. My potted plants, strawberries, blueberries, and tomatoes get mulch.
Mulch is The Magic Sauce when it comes to gardening.
I’ve seen many no-mulch gardens, but they always tend to become weed patches after a while. You are basically gardening in an open wound in the earth, and it will try to heal itself.
Mulching will save you water, lower or eliminate your need for herbicides and pesticides, and save you a ton of time and work.
I live in a super rural area with a well that will probably dry up in the next two years unless it’s fixed; mulch is a must for me in order to keep my garden as well maintained (with water of course) as possible for as long as possible. The mulch helps keep my crops from drying out as quick/ therefore not so harsh on my well.
Plus; so much less weeds!!!!
I don’t mulch. I make sure to do a lot of interplanting that what when the plants grow and fill out they will keep the ground covered.
My veg garden is 80 ft by 60 ft. I put dried grass under my tomatoes, peppers and vine crop when small. That’s it.
If you don’t mulch, nature finds a way to fill the space, and you get weeds. The soil dries faster and your crops don’t stay as cool. The soil health suffers in terms of microbes. Are there cheap options for mulch, yes. Can you grow without it, yes. Should you mulch, yes. There is a reason you see it everywhere. Gardening is about more than a harvest. It’s about future health of your soil, longevity and your entire ecosystem.
I don’t mulch the actual vegetable and flower beds, only the berry bushes and raspberries (and assorted brambles).
I do intensive planting, so there isn’t really room for weeds or mulch. Basically, I just stick carrots, onions and lettuce in between most my larger plants 😂
I just started adding some serious mulch this year (my 3rd year in this garden). I think it’s helped wiht moisture retention but the weeds are still thriving and living their best lives lol
I have gardened without mulching, and one major issue I had was a lot of splash up from the dirt and debris every time I watered or it rained.
Weeds are also an issue, but the types I deal with burst out of everything. Quackgrass, creeping ground ivy (Charlie), shepherd’s purse, yellow clover, oxalis, dandelion, plantain, and crab grass to name a few.
I still have areas without mulch or only a thin layer.
If it weren’t for cost, I’d use mulch a lot more. Im just trying to figure out if straw mulch would be better than woodchips.
I mulch my yew bushes by dropping whatever weeds I pulled out of my garden underneath them. The yews are dense enough the shade and lack of water, prevent the weeds from regrowing.
I don’t mulch my annuals and my garden is doing really well. I’m sure my plants would appreciate mulch but it’s hard to mulch large areas, and mulch makes it harder to weed with long handled tools. As the summer wears on, the plants themselves shade the soil.
That said, I religiously mulch ALL my edible perennials with wood chips because it’s all upside and no downside.
I don’t use mulch because it traps the water in the soil. I think drybacks are important for many vegetables, so I like to have bare soil that the water can evaporate from. I feel that mulch keeps too much water in the soil and leads to waterlogging in my area.
I have to, because the soil dries up too fast if I don’t. It’s really hot where I live, and mulch keeps the ground cooler and keeps the water from evaporating as fast. It also helps a bit with weed control.
Mulching is a quadruple threat. Better soil retention, less weeds, no soil splashback from rain which means less diseases, and more nutrients for the soil once it breaks down. It’s too good of a tool to pass up.
I’ve never mulched my vegetable garden.
First year you’ll be fine. You’ll get an amazing crop. Next year in the same spot with nothing replenishing the nutrients the previous harvest took you’ll notice a significant slide in size and quality. This is why we mulch and rotate crops that put the good stuff back in.
First time gardening outside of pots, and I think not mulching was a mistake. My soil is apparently very fertile. At this point I’m only weeding big weeds close to my plants, because the weeds are simply too much to keep up with.
This year was an experiment, so I’m definitely learning some To-Dos Not-To-Dos for next year.
mulching to have a successful garden is not necessary. the alternative is to weed/surface till the soil.
Me and my garden sucks this year. So off to Lowe’s I go….
Wait until all of you buy a shredder and use cardboard.
https://preview.redd.it/zapmotfnd2bf1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d5aefaa64246999c24951e4282a415369dac514
My mom never mulches and her garden does great.
Hand up. I don’t. I water daily and weed weekly. Does the trick!
It’s one of those things where if you don’t do it, it’s unlikely you’ll completely fail, but if you do, you’re very likely to see improvements. Mulching controls moisture and temperature, helps prevent weeds and disease, and feeds the soil as it breaks down over time. How much you will benefit from mulching depends on how much you experience those issues. And you don’t have to buy mulch, you can use leaves, grass clippings, etc. Even groundcover and dense planting are kinds of mulching.
I didn’t previously mulch and this year I decided to try it. I’m shocked at how much bigger and fuller my crops are. I should have done it years ago.
Your success is going to depend on your local climate and soil. If the soil stays damp and doesn’t cook in the sun your plants will do fine. My garden gets full direct sun and we got clouds and a bit of rain yesterday for the first time in over a month. Without mulch the soil dries out too fast and the roots cook. If we got rain and clouds every day mulch might keep things too soggy.
Saves a lot of time weeding, helps keep the soil moist and breaks down for some extra nutrients (i use sugarcane)
Compost, not hardwood mulch
Mulch is really beneficial and pretty easy to make or source cheaply.
Living mulch! Commercial mulch is a scam to sell you more shit, if you’re not into living mulch than grass clippings or whatever are fine but the best ‘mulch’ is companion planting, flowers, cover crops, etc. All do the job of providing shade cover and helping with water retention, but instead of ugly ass bark chips you get flowers and more pollinators!
I typically have one garden that’s mulched and one that’s not. The not being more like an agriculture field than a garden. The unmulched garden requires twice weekly weeding and a lot more watering. A LOT more regardless of what is planted there.
This year I planted clover (noninvasive where I live) as a living mulch and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. It can be baking hot and dry outside and under the clover it’s cool and damp.