It may seem odd to sing the praises of a weird, sometimes gross, looking phenomenon that sometimes freaks gardeners out, but every summer I love educating gardeners about the fascinating lives of slime molds. Here in Nebraska we often get calls about “this weird thing that’s all over my mulch” after a rainy period in the summer and whether or not it will 1) hurt their plants, 2) poison them, or 3) some other horrible outcome they’ve dreamed up.… Continue reading this article “Barf! An ode to the fascinating life of slime mold”
Category: Mulches
To mulch or not to mulch? It shouldn’t even be a question.
One of the popular arguments against mulching landscape and garden soils is that mulch delays soil warming and thus retards plant growth. Given that a well-chosen mulch will moderate temperature extremes – both hot and cold – is this an argument supported with evidence? In today’s post, I’m reporting the data I collected in visiting various parts of my home landscape and gardens and measuring soil temperatures.… Continue reading this article “To mulch or not to mulch? It shouldn’t even be a question.”
Landscape fabric – a cautionary tale
This isn’t the first time I’ve ranted about bad mulch choices and it certainly won’t be the last. But this pictorial cautionary tale is too important to pass up.
We already know that sheet mulches can be death to microbes, plant roots and animals living in the soil underneath. Our newly published research shows that landscape fabric reduces carbon dioxide movement between the soil and atmosphere about 1,000 times more than wood chip mulches do: plastic mulches are even worse.… Continue reading this article “Landscape fabric – a cautionary tale”