Topic: Weed supressant - plastic vs Mulch (Strulch)

[reddyreddy]

Good point about the plastic going brittle, the compost bin we inherited down there was obvioulsy lined with plastic at some point as it has gone brittle and shattered. The permeable membrane shreds which is a bit of a pain so perhaps I will cardboard and mulch after cutting out as much as poss. Any good sources for buying mulch?

[Baccy Man]

The 2 cheapest options for mulch which spring to mind are either manure which you mentioned earlier or woodchips which most tree surgeons are desperate to get rid of & give away by the lorryload free or for cost of delivery only. If you used woodchips you could innoculate them with mushroom spawn to speed up decomposition & give you an extra crop something like stropharia (wine caps) is very good for that purpose. One of the best suppliers for mushroom spawn IMO is http://www.annforfungi.co.uk.

[lewic]

then cover with an 8" thick layer of organic matter such as manure

Wouldnt this cost a fortune? I paid £3 a bag.

[saddad]

It gets much cheaper if you can get a bulk delivery... bagging it up takes time which costs money...  :)

[lewic]

d**n, I'll need to get mine helicoptered in as no vehicle access! See other thread about the price of poo in Bristol...

[caroline7758]

My thoughts on an 8"mulch wasn't the price- manure is often available free- but the sheer amount you would have to shovel/barrow. :o I've heard peoplerecommend 4" before and thought that was bad enough.
I spread hops about 2" thick today and the 11 bags that fitted in my Scenic with the seats down (probably could have fitted more in but was worried about the weight) would have covered about 3sq.m. at 8" thick!

[Baccy Man]

A mulch 2" - 4" thick is recommended around plants you are growing an 8" mulch is recommended  to kill off whatever is growing to prepare new ground ready to be cultivated. Cost is not an issue for me as I know a lot of farmers & either get it free or just pay a few quid to cover fuel costs. I usually get about 30 ton delivered at a time which takes 2-3 days to shift to where it's needed yes it's a lot of hard work but so are lots of other aspects of gardening.