Midseason Garden Update: Mulching with Straw and Newspaper

For the first time we decided to mulch the pathways of our garden to make managing the weeds easier. We should have done this long ago. The technique is to put down a thick layer of newspapers and cover it with straw. It should kill whatever is growing in the path and for awhile keep new growth from popping up. Be sure to use straw, not hay. Hay is full of seeds.

Beware that wood chips, pine straw and other materials can change the acidity of the soil and if they get mixed in can "fix" the nitrogen in the soil, making it unavailable to the growing plants. This can be an issue with large amounts of non decomposed straw that get mixed in to the soil too, but to a lesser extent.

Comments

[Scott Jacobs]

Don't worry about pine straw negatively affecting your soil acidity. See this article: http://www.pinestrawinfo.com/PineStrawMulchAcidity-SeparatingFactFromFictionThroughAnalyticalTesting.pdf

[Jaspenelle]

This is a great idea but it is also important to only mulch where you absolutely need it. Ground nesting native bees (like bumblebees) cannot nest where it is heavily mulched and we need them to pollinate our gardens!

[Jaspenelle]

Also, I am curious, where do you get your straw?

[craig]

We got the straw at Aslin Finch.

[craig]

Scott,
The bigger concern in my opinion with pine straw is that it takes a long time to decompose in the soil. It can be a good mulch for landscaping but not vegetable gardens.

[Scott Jacobs]

I agree Craig, but normally I only use pine straw as a top dressing mulch and don't ever till it in. It breaks down over time if left alone, but you are right in that it does take a long time if incorporated in the soil.