[HilaryG]

Hi there. My plot is very dry and I've been experimenting putting rhubarb leaves down inbetween the potato rows as a mulch ( having watered first) but I've found a good free supply of well rotted horse manure and am wondering if I can put it on the brassica bed or the onions, both of which are cracking up. Is manure ok for a mulch and are there places to avoid, such as carrots etc.
I'd be interested to know what mulches people are trying during this hosepipe ban. We're not even allowed to fill our water butts with a hose here

[moonglow]

Personally im only really trying mulches for the first time this year as i think anything that helps with weeds is a good idea:).

Lets think.

1) Used grass clippings from home to mulch Rhubarb, Runner beans.
2) Used Comfrey leaves around Courgets as they forfill 2 roles as a mulch and as a food source for a hungry plant like Courget, also used straw for mulching the strawberrys.

Now i know mulches do have thier downsides ie Slugs and such hiding but i felt this is one way of solving a problem.

Ps make sure the grass doesnt have any seeds in it .

Another point is if you are trying to save water/keeping plant roots damp maybe you could try planting them in dips, this does concentrate the water to just the roots and i have noticed they do seem to stay moist a lot longer.

[solway cropper]

Living in Cumbria it seems strange to hear people talking of dry plots and conserving moisture. We have an excess of moisture up here.

Having said that and because I'm a no-dig gardener, I use a lot of home-made compost, grass clippings, etc. as a mulch all over the plot in winter and let the worms drag it into the soil

[goose]

i have never really done this before, however, after planting my sweetcorn out yesterday and watering the dustbowl where i panted them, i mulched around the bases with some home compost from the heap.

i am not sure if it is the right thing to do, but even after the amount of rain we had recently, within a day, my plot is back to a dustbowl!

today has been colder, but i will check on them again tomorrow to see how my experiment is going.  i am away a lot so hopefully it may make a difference.....i will report back 

[HilaryG]

Thanks for the ideas......I'll try all those on my patch of desert! Does anyone know if it's ok to use well rotted manure as a mulch, and if so ,on what? 

[mumofstig]

if you're sure it is well rotted then I can't think of anything that wouldn't like it - draw it away to sow seed and I wouldn't want it to actually touch leaves that you're going to eat raw, so not salad leaves.
Other than that - anything - I reckon.

[Yorkie]

Make sure that the ground is moist / wet before you add the mulch, so you trap the moisture into the ground.

[gremlin]

Thanks for the ideas......I'll try all those on my patch of desert! Does anyone know if it's ok to use well rotted manure as a mulch, and if so ,on what? 

Any mulch is better than no mulch.
I use grass clippings by choice round beans and peas as I have to get rid of tons of it somehow.  Isn't there a risk that manure will give the plants too much nitrogen and you will get lovely soft green leaves and little fruit? If I had no grass clippings I would choose cardboard, newspaper, straw or fleece.

That said I do "top dress" round rhubarb and raspberries with manure in January.

[shokkyy]

Is it ok to use mowings that have been sitting around for a few days and started to heat up and rot? I always worry they'll be too hot for the plants.

[gremlin]

Fresh is better, but if I use older hot clippings I'm only spreading an inch thickness at a time round the plants, not dumping the whole bag over them. If it seems very hot I tip the bag out nearby and spread it out thinly to cool for 5 mins. Only downside is that mouldy old grass smells so much worse than new mown grass.

[archies plot]

hi, i have been using well rotting manure as a mulch and find it great my brassicas love it but dont put any on the carrots, regards archie