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  • #1

    Straw mulch

    I've got my hands on some straw and am planning to mulch my potatoes with them.

    I've never used straw as a mulch before - but am planning on mulching several inches thick with it.

    I've got some spuds poking through the surface but I'm not sure whether to mulch them now. Or whether to mulch them thinly now and then top up, or to wait and mulch when they're a bit bigger.

    I'm also toying with the idea of mulching my onions and garlic with straw but not as convinced about this.


    Does anyone mulch with straw - and if so what advice can you offer? Thanks
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  • #2
    I use straw for the strawberries. For the spuds, after they are earthed up then I put lawn mowings in between the ridges. I don't see why you can't use the straw in the same way.

    I'm not sure about the onions and garlic, but I don't see why not.
    Mark

    Vegetable Kingdom blog

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    • #3
      http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ment_5573.html

      'nuff said!

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      • #4
        I don't have access to free straw, and I'm not paying for it. I use grass clippings in the same way, though they are greens and straw is brown: that may affect how you use it, depending on whether you believe in nitrogen-robbing or not.

        Grass clippings are ideal for onions: nice and fine, just strew them on then water them down
        All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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        • #5
          I've mulched my japanese onions, garlic and shallots with grass clippings, which has worked brilliantly - no weeds, happy aliums that withstood the dry spell (no watering at all) fine. I would think straw would work fine also, although perhaps applied with care for smaller plants. However they are pretty resiliant - I applied soggy grass clippings with oak leaves to my onions over winter, and in very few cases I'd accidentally plonked a lump of soggy grass/leaves on top of an onion. Those onions did the normal thing of going around in circles unable to find a way out until I uncovered them this spring, when they grew on, traumatised and wonky but otherwise not too worse for wear.
          Proud member of the Nutters Club.
          Life goal: become Barbara Good.

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          • #6
            I don't like spending out but have decided to treat myself to a bale (£3 from a farm around the corner). I do love the way it looks. I'll actually probably use it to cover the cardboard I plant my squash and corn through.
            the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

            Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

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            • #7
              I was thinking of getting some straw from my brother, but our plot is so windy I don't think it will stay around very long
              Last edited by BarleySugar; 26-04-2012, 07:06 PM.
              I could not live without a garden, it is my place to unwind and recover, to marvel at the power of all growing things, even weeds!
              Now a little Shrinking Violet.

              http://potagerplot.blogspot.com/

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              • #8
                No straw here...I'm working my way through a wheelie-bin of dried old leaves for my spuds.
                Tried and Tested...but the results are inconclusive

                ..................................................

                Honorary member of the nutters club, by appointment of VeggieChicken

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by BarleySugar View Post
                  I was thinking of getting some straw from my brother, but our plot is so windy I don't think it will stay around very long
                  Water it before and after you put it down - our plot is pretty windy and it stays down once it's there with no watering at all. Even better, do it on a rainy day and you trap the moisture under - which is the point.

                  We found a farm thanks to VVG - £1.50 a bale so I bought 4 and gave them a tenner as I usually pay £2.50. £10 to mulch all summer long, including paths - money well spent IMHO.

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                  • #10
                    I use straw for everything. I have a friendly farmer who happily gives me old round bales. I dont mulch until the plants are established and it works a treat. At the end of a crop I rake it onto the paths which are also straw and start again. It keeps the weeds down and the moisture in so I don't have to water that often. The only problem is the slugs but for leafy crops a few slug pellets put down before the straw seems to keep them at bay. 1 large round bale will last me a season.
                    Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

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                    • #11
                      I use straw for my spuds and onions then at the end of the season dig it in and I now have soil like multi purpose compost, get it on the spuds now before they get to big shouldn't think you will need to water before you put it on if you have had as much rain as we have.
                      Last edited by PAULW; 27-04-2012, 11:09 AM.

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                      • #12
                        Thanks Paul!

                        Do you put it on the onions now too?

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                        • #13
                          I use it on the winter onions it helps keep the weeds down holds moisture and stops me slicing the onions when hoeing, but cant see why you cant do it now especially with the drought conditions we have at the moment.
                          By the way garlic and shallots will grow through a thick mulch of straw but dont cover onion sets with the straw they dont like it but fill in the gaps between rows then as the onions get bigger you can pull the straw around them.
                          Last edited by PAULW; 27-04-2012, 11:55 AM.

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                          • #14
                            I've gone out and put some out now. The straw is pretty damp from the rain we've had the last few days so hopefully it won't blow away ... and I think we're due some more today anyway!

                            Have mulched half the onions as an experiment!

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by zazen999 View Post
                              £1.50 a bale so I bought 4
                              Alright, I can stretch to a couple of quid ~ I'll keep my eyes peeled when I'm biking the dog round the country lanes
                              Last edited by Two_Sheds; 27-04-2012, 03:39 PM.
                              All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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