As I decided earlier to grow in my garden I was wondering if using black plastic over the ground for weed prevention around my plants would be a good idea. What do you guys think? Good idea?
Bad idea? If a bad idea, why. If a good idea why.
I would use landscape fabric instead of plastic keeps the weeds away and water can pass through
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Also black plastic might get super hot underneath on sunny days, no airflow.
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You could also plant clover for a ground cover. It provides a lot of nitrogen and can choke out weeds.
- All clovers are capable of adding nitrogen to the soil but there are a few that out-produce the others, contributing 100 pounds or more of nitrogen annually.
White clover (Trifolium repens) is a low-growing perennial species that is often mixed with lawn seed to reduce or eliminate the need for nitrogen. This clover is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 11.
Red clover (Trifolium pratense) is another perennial for USDA zones 4 to 11 that grows up to 12 inches tall and is better suited for wildflower meadows and livestock pasture.
Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) is a cool season annual with vibrant flowers. It is often grown in fall or winter to return nitrogen in vegetable gardens.
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I appreciate that caligirl. Red clover has to be cultivated here, mostly for horse hay. White clover grows all around but only in patches. I imagine trying to grow white clover might not go well.
I notice nursery grower will cover rows with black plastic for unwanted weeds.
What Im wondering is will the heat absorption be bad for the mj and will it cull oxygen from getting to the roots.
Hoeing or tilling the rest of my garden isnt a oroblem but in the confined space I will grow mj those wobt be options.
Another thing about clover is deer love the stuff.
I just dont want to overheat the plant or cause roots to maybe not get enough air and since mold seems to be a big problem with mj I wonder about that also.
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I use the landscape fabric Dave mentioned. Its what you see on rows of commercial gardens. From a distance it looks like plastic, but it blocks weeds from underneath and lets water and air through the top.
Mold wont grow as it breathes well.
Just search “Landscape Fabric” and you will find it everywhere.
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I was thinking mulch, it works for the veggies to keep weeds down. My garden could use the organic material as well.
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I have found strawberry plants to be an excellent cover crop. I plant them in all the bare soil around my cannabis and veggies in my raised beds. The bees love em and my kids love the berries. They stay low and are good at choking out weeds. They are great at holding the soil together thru the winter and stay green thru light frost. Then a month before spring planting I turn them all over into compost. They are an excellent source for zinc.
In the fall I cut off all the runners (bareroot) after I harvest the cannabis. I keep them crammed into a cardboard box cold stored in a dark corner of my garage. No extra love. That way you have plenty for next season at no cost. Strawberry starts can add up fast from the nursery. Yikes.
I also have dedicated strawberry gardens where I properly rotate the stock. Most commercial strawberry farmers turn over (compost) their mother plants every 2-3 years. Strawberry plants produce the MOST fruit their first 2-3 years of life. After that it is easier for the plant to reproduce by a creeping risome(rootball) or runners than sexual production. The plants then make very little fruit.
Don’t let anyone give you their old mother strawberries; what you really want are the young vigorous sexually active young ones. The new runners.
I plant them around the base of all my cherry, apple, peach, nectarine, raspberry, pear, and banana trees. They thrive there. The only berry that they don’t do well under is blueberries. The blueberries grow too dense for the light to penetrate no matter how many times I try to cover crop em with straws🍓.
Happy growing🙀
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Wow, alot of good info there. I didnt lnow about landscape fabric but it sounds good.
Im not a big fan of strawberries, they’re ok, but Ive never had any that were all that sweet.
Thanks for the good information. I’m gonna have the biggest green thumb around.
Knutson
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Alpine strawberries. Nobody grows them because the berries are small and the yield is low. But the berries are in a class of their own for sweetness. The definition of strawberry syrup.
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There’s a big difference between strawberries you get at the store and the one’s you grow in your garden this is coming from a guy that lives in a town that has a strawberry festival every year
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Ha, for shits and giggles I once did DWC bubble buckets on my front porch. I put strawberries🍓, cilantro, and basil. Full south sun outdoor. It did surprisingly well. Anyway, the blind taste test winner was the soil over DWC strawberries. My 3 kids were the judges. No point other than my old strawberry bubble buckets still make me smile. It would definitely start many conversations amongst random visitors to my home.
Happy growing🙀
I collected grass clippings from neighbors last year and used as mulch. I must have hauled close to fifty bags in but it did the trick! I probably put on a layer 4-6 inches thick. Going to do the same with the flower beds this year.
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Yeah I’ve seen that one, and a few others. Fungi play a big role in wood decay.
Yellow Mold on Mulch
The multiple types of organic materials found in mulch make it the perfect growing spot for yellow mold. When it grows on mulch, it tends to look more like a slime mold because of its exposure to the various elements.
It may even look more like vomit than mold when you discover it outside. Although this mold may look unpleasant or worrisome when you see it, the growth is just part of the composting process.
Yikes, thats ugly and mold spores are bad for your lungs too I thought.
What about pine needles? What would they do to soil ph?
That is just dog vomit slime mold. That stuff won’t hurt anything. If you spread out coffee grounds too thickly you get lots of that about 30 days later.
@CurrDogg420 is 100% correct; it is part of the composting process. I have had that stuff grow up the stem of cannabis plants 12” or so. I have also had it grow up my rose bush canes in disturbing volumes. Despite my urge to intervene, I did nothing and those plants were not harmed at all. It’s like a few mushrooms fruiting in your compost. Harmless and an indicator that the soil (soul) is loaded with microbes and quite healthy. As a matter of fact I was told that it only grows in really rich garden soil so it is a GOOD sign. Just too bad it looks like your dog just threw up a pile scrambled eggs everywhere, instead of pretty little toadstool fruiting bodies.
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I am laughing, I do that too. But now my neighbors are onto me and are using my living soil techniques in their gardens. They won’t share their grass clippings.
So I go down to the dead end of my street (5lots down) with my wheelbarrow in the fall. I get all the cottonwood, alder, and maple leaves that pile up there (downhill) before the city can. People still look at me like I’m crazy (my wife mostly) dragging 30-40 wheelbarrows full of downed leaves out back to my raised beds. By spring you are hard pressed to find one recognizable leaf in the beds. The worms are addicted to leaves like crack.
If your garden is lacking in earthworms or red wigglers, just add the leaves and they will come.
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Ive been saving coffee grounds and egg shells in an old coffee can to use in the soil later. It does give off a powerful aroma.
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I do love the coffee grounds too. Nectar of the gods (coffee) and compost of the gods. Charred ground beans with a great NPK, wet, small particle size. My understanding is if you go w dark roast the outer char is actually char.
Anyway, I have an arrangement with several local coffee stands. I leave them empty lidded buckets and they give me them back loaded w grounds. I just slip them some nice buds to “grease” the arrangement. I usually get a free coffee too, ha. I probably add 50lbs a year to my raised beds and food forest. That coffee can full would only last a week here…
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