From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Arkansas

Wes@Calif has a picture of his beautiful patch in his diary. I am jealous.

He has his patch mulched with straw. I was told not to use a mulch because the vine needed access to the ground. I have a bale of straw, should I use it to mulch or not?

6/4/2002 11:52:45 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

Hey Preacher saw this posted awhile back. If you page back some pages you can probably find it. Consensus was that if your soil is retaining water that the mulch might only harbour bugs and fungus. and should be avoided if possible. Wes is in a pretty dry area of california and needs to keep his water in.

6/5/2002 6:25:31 AM

Connecticut, USA

Yes, mulch can harbor insects and mice. However, the benefits are retained moisture and they help keep the weeds down. Also, don't forget once you put it down it is very hard to remove. I used it once then it rained for 6 days in a row and mold began to grow everywhere.

6/5/2002 6:31:38 AM

Stafford, Virginia

I posted this question a couple of weeks ago and the general conclusion seemed to be: 1)mulch would reduce water evaporation and possibly weeds. 2)but that as much as you need/ought to be in the patch daily weeding continously shouldn't be a problem 3)introduction of out- side diseases/bugs is a much greater possibility 4)the issue of impairing runner roots from reaching/contacting the soil (reducing uptake potential for future fruit production)is more important than mulch benefits 5)we have not recieved a lot of rain yet this year but....if we should start to get it and the soil stays too moist w/high humidity I am afraid I'll end up fighting mold/fungi on top of everything else.
I have decided to "not mulch" as I already spend a fair amount of time daily checking/tending and just don't need something else to add to my duties.
Good luck John/Nancy-Stafford, Va.

6/5/2002 8:52:16 AM

Chester Co., PA

Preacher,
Thanks for the praise; all that straw is an experiment this year. In my climate some kind of mulch is mandatory. Small amounts of straw have worked well in the past, also it's cheap, easy to get and transport. Rain here during the summer is unheard of. To make sure the vine gets roots - the straw is pushed away ahead of its path. After the season the straw will be raked to one side, if tilled into the soil it breaks down slowly and eats up all available nitrogen. Last year a pumpkin grew on the straw with nothing underneath - the straw compressed into a dry, protective mat that kept the bottom from rotting. We do have mice and everyday our orange cat(Pumpkin) gets put inside the fence to patrol. He loves being under the leaf canopy and sometimes we find him sitting on top of a huge pumpkin. A benefit of straw I had not considered was what a wonderful clean dry surface it makes when you are down on the ground working on the plant. In is inviting to just stretch out on the ground next to the plant and admire it.

6/5/2002 4:15:23 PM

South Hill, Virginia

Look at the "In the Patch" with Joe Pukos. He mulches with straw and has grown 1000 lbers in two consecutive years. I guess it may work for some but not for others.

6/5/2002 5:12:52 PM