I thought it might be useful to start a thread for this so it can more easily be found. It follows on from the discussion started in the Something new for 2014 thread http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,76659.msg780283/topicseen.html#new
Here's a couple of links http://www.gardening-naturally.com/acatalog/Biodegradable_Mulch.html
http://www.mulchorganic.co.uk/ same productbut a bit more info this is also available in the US, http://www.weedguardplus.com/products.php
Although expensive I think I'm going to give the paper one a whirl. I can have weeks or more when I just can't manage any real gardening and I think using this might help me keep on top of things better and enjoy my garden :happy7: From the size I think it will fit the width of my raised beds and also in my make shift small cloche/poly tunnels.
Overall I love using mulches of different types, I'd never keep up or manage to clear new ground if I didn't use them. Cardboard, grass clippings and a bit of weed control fabric, all work for me!
I am big on straw, leaf mould and grass clippings. Problem is the straw makes such a mess in the car. The grass clippings go in the compost bin for two or three days first and then go on hot, the weeds hate it, only couch and nettles come though. With care I put it round brassicas. I also use weeds. I put handfuls of weeds around potates, sweetcorn and rhubarb.
The straw bales which kept my courgettes etc warm this year will be used as mulch next year, so they do three jobs for the money because at the moment they are making a wall to keeping the northwest wind off my brassicas.
I put some cardboard down and the deer and slugs made a real mess of it and it was blowing all over the place, so I have given up on that.
The corn starch link says it lasts 16 weeks not sure that is long enough.
I used straw on my paths this last year as they are quite boggy at the beginning of the season...never again. I had a crop grow from it , in the end I paid someone to remove all of it from the paths, some of it was a foot high, thank goodness I didn't put it on my raised beds!!
XX Jeannine
About my 2 experiences with Mypex (called ProMat in USA): (1) I've used it under winter squash for a couple years and left it in place year round. I cut holes in it, put compost in the hole, stuck in the seedling, then covered the Mypex with woodchips from a tree we had taken down just because I don't like looking a plastic. I had 7 or 8 plants and harvested 64 mainly butternut type squash this year in the Mypex.
My guess is the earthworms don't get much organic matter to chew if the mat stays down all year. The wood chips on the other hand slowly decompose giving them something. Sliding cardboard or newspaper under the mat would help the worms and I think I'll do that this fall so it breaks down over the winter. I also wonder if the heat generated by black plastic makes the soil too hot for worms??
The other place Mypex has helped greatly is when used for paths in my veg garden. I spent way too much energy before weeding paths. This year I started pulling up some brick paths that always got weedy and ran mypex underneath then set the bricks back on top without putting sand or anything between the bricks. This worked great. I'm going to pull up the brick walkway in the flower garden this fall where weeds have always come up through the grout, and under will go more of the ProMat/Mypex.
I used the paper mulch this year for peas, broad beans, courgettes, marrows and fennel, and it worked well. If nothing else, it gave me time to keep on top of the weeds elsewhere for a while.