New Member from Massachusetts

[kenneth Power]

Hello fellow gardeners, I have 700 sq. ft. of vegetable garden that I grew mostly weeds in last year. Looking forward to doing a better job this time around.
We were in the single digits here last night so no planting till April but happy to have found you all.
I am looking for the most effective type of mulch possible so I can plant, water, mulch and forget it. This may be a pipe dream but looking for advice
Thanks Gatehopper

 

[majorcatfish]

welcome from north Carolina......

weeds are god's gift to keep you busy in the garden.......

 

[Ridgerunner]

God works in mysterious ways....... (I understand this phrase is not in the Bible but it seems appropriate.)

Welcome from NW Arkansas. Glad you found us. We're mostly kind of off-season right now but we'll get with it soon. I started some chard and kale seeds this morning just to talk about something gardening in January.

You'll find that different ones of us use different things. @Beekissed really likes her wood chips. I generally use wheat straw over newspaper. Others use other things. Even I occasionally use something different but you'll find a lot of us really like mulch of some sort. You are on the right track.

 

[ninnymary]

Welcome Kenneth. Do read beekissed thread on Back to Eden gardening. There is a lot of useful information there. You have a big garden compared to mine. What do you plan to grow this spring?

Mary

 

[journey11]

Welcome to TEG, Kenneth!

I've had good results mulching with cardboard covered thickly with straw or old hay. It was the most weed free summer I'd had in the garden to date anyway. Now would be the time to start hoarding cardboard if you have a large garden.

You'd need to soak that cardboard well at first when you put it down or step carefully until you've had a good soaking rain. I found out the hard way that dry cardboard can be quite slick!

BTE gardening is a good option too if you would be able to come by enough wood chips.

 

[kenneth Power]

Thank You all for the welcome. First off I tend to plant a very organized garden as early as mother nature allows and then turn my attention to boating. It is summer after all. This is when all hell breaks loose with the weeds. The plastic cloth mulch is useless I have even tried doubling it up. The weeds grow right through. I do plan on using wood chips this summer and already have been saving newspaper and cardboard. Thanks again

 

[catjac1975]

Hello fellow gardeners, I have 700 sq. ft. of vegetable garden that I grew mostly weeds in last year. Looking forward to doing a better job this time around.
We were in the single digits here last night so no planting till April but happy to have found you all.
I am looking for the most effective type of mulch possible so I can plant, water, mulch and forget it. This may be a pipe dream but looking for advice
Thanks Gatehopper

Hey-I am in Mattapoisett-where are you?

 

[kenneth Power]

Hey-I am in Mattapoisett-where are you?

Framingham

 

[Beekissed]

Hello fellow gardeners, I have 700 sq. ft. of vegetable garden that I grew mostly weeds in last year. Looking forward to doing a better job this time around.
We were in the single digits here last night so no planting till April but happy to have found you all.
I am looking for the most effective type of mulch possible so I can plant, water, mulch and forget it. This may be a pipe dream but looking for advice
Thanks Gatehopper

Like folks have stated, the http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/ is an eye opener about mulches that retain water well while also dispersing the water if you have a too wet season. Just need to get it established the year before you want to plant so it can mulch down a good bit...some folks get past that by getting ramial wood chips that have been sitting around that long and are already mulched down a good bit.

I loved the first season with the wood chips, even though mine were not mulched down yet...retained moisture as promised and also suppressed weeds where kept thick enough(4-6 in.). When I let weeds grow intentionally in the thinner areas, they pulled up in seconds and with extreme ease, so makes gardening a dream.

I'd watch the film all the way through before venturing into this type of mulching and then I'd watch the follow up vids on YT, they were even more enlightening than the original vid as they go into more detail about the garden after many years of use.

One thing I learned...you don't need to put down newspaper or cardboard to suppress weeds, even when you first start out. The wood chips, if deep enough, won't let a weed or grass get through.

 

[kenneth Power]

Like folks have stated, the http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/ is an eye opener about mulches that retain water well while also dispersing the water if you have a too wet season. Just need to get it established the year before you want to plant so it can mulch down a good bit...some folks get past that by getting ramial wood chips that have been sitting around that long and are already mulched down a good bit.

I loved the first season with the wood chips, even though mine were not mulched down yet...retained moisture as promised and also suppressed weeds where kept thick enough(4-6 in.). When I let weeds grow intentionally in the thinner areas, they pulled up in seconds and with extreme ease, so makes gardening a dream.

I'd watch the film all the way through before venturing into this type of mulching and then I'd watch the follow up vids on YT, they were even more enlightening than the original vid as they go into more detail about the garden after many years of use.

One thing I learned...you don't need to put down newspaper or cardboard to suppress weeds, even when you first start out. The wood chips, if deep enough, won't let a weed or grass get through.

Great news I will watch all the videos. Come on spring