Mulch what you need to know

[@GardenerScott]

Great mulch video! I mulch for all of the same reasons.

[@eliandkate]

It can be so helpful. Cats…. All I’m saying 😍

[@oreopaksun2512]

Always good to review someone else's reasons for using mulch or whatever in the garden; there is always a nugget or two to be had. My first time growing strawberries, and the bare roots really struggled during the winter (which is when strawberries are grown in Florida). Very late in spring when commercial growers were pulling their plants out, I decided to oversummer them to try again. One of the changes was adding couple inches of mulch (dried lemongrass clippings, bc straw and hay is really hard to get here in smaller quantities, and yes, I grow enough lemongrass to use it for biomass). Since then, those strawberry plants have flowered, produced a few berries, and most importantly, are producing runners! Mulch magic! The wall planter garden is looking fantastic, as are all other areas of your gardens.

[@eliandkate]

I love hearing about all our different growing struggles 😍

[@anitalloydjones3738]

I have just discovered your videos and I am now binging ! Just bought a Greenhouse ! seen your video on what to use it for. Would you be able to tell me about your light bulbs in your Greenhouse please ? I have looked online and cant see anything like them. Please keep up the good work - I am learning lots from you both xxx

[@eliandkate]

Depending on which ones as I changed them a while back but if you pop to the description on this video you’ll see a link to my website which has a page of links to thinks I use 😀

[@jeffreyhurry1464]

Great information Eli always like your videos.....I'm an oldie now gardened all my life but you never stop learning...😊

[@eliandkate]

Absolutely Jeffrey We’re always learning, otherwise it just gets boring

[@deborahjane68]

Your Garden's Are Stunning. Thank You For Sharing. Take Care. X

[@eliandkate]

Thank you Deborah, glad you are enjoying sharing them with us

[@sheilathomas8528]

Thanks Eli, beautifully explained. Missed Kate today. Thanks for sharing.

[@eliandkate]

😍

[@chicosgarden]

Very informative video, Thank you. I love watching your video's, they give me such inspiration for my own garden 😀

[@eliandkate]

Awwwwwwww

[@carladelagnomes]

I have the same problem with the neighborhood cats in my new place here in SW Oregon. I may try the white stones in the front where I have ornamentals already growing.

[@eliandkate]

Worth a try Carla Just for your sanity

[@paulrush5935]

Great video great explanation too on different ways to mulch 👍

[@eliandkate]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@jasons-jungle]

Nice overview. I use straw on mu strawberries for the same reason but grass cuttings on everything else. I don'tt use the mulch on seed sowing areas. I use the mulch to lock in moisture, supress weeds, stop splashback, feed the soil as it breaks down - I've never had a problem with it leeching nitrogen. One benefit of something like a straw or grass mulch which most people don't mention is that it can actually water the carden. WHen you get a morning dew the moisture in the air condences on the surfaces of the grass clippings and runs down into the soil. With all those little blades of grass there is a large surface area to have the morning mist condense onto. What about the slugs - do you have a slug problem? I find that slugs (which will eat dead and decaying matter) will munch on the grass clippings and also that rove beetles and centipedes also thrive under the mulch - both of which eat slugs.

[@eliandkate]

Oh yes…. We have the perfect climate for slugs I’ve learned to accept I can’t stop them and instead I have to accept they are part of the garden and I just have to work with it best I can. Took me a while to accept it but you know… it’s nature so I do what I can to minimise problems but won’t eradicate it 😀

[@j.b.6855]

Your garden is looking nice, lots of color from the flowers. Mulch is an important part of any garden and the mulch I use wasnt mentioned. I live in a town with tree lined streets (small leaf maples) . In the fall people bag leaves up and set the bags out on garbage day. I drive around in my van and collect 30-40 bags and store them in my garage. I use the leaves as mulch on almost everything. Then I make lots and lots of leaf mold and compost with the rest. Best part is they are free. Preventing splash up on tomatoes is important, so add that to the reason to mulch them. Its a main way tomatoes get disease.

[@eliandkate]

Free is always a bonus 😍

[@christinamoxon]

Thanks Eli. That was very informative. Just enough depth to cover the important stuff without overwhelming new gardeners. Anyone would think you had a background in teaching... And I needed the reminder, tbh. I mulched with grass clippings last year and you're right, it's a bit unslightly. But I have a huge slug population in our garden, so I can't use straw. Not sure, tbh, what to use so I am just watering lots and dithering.

[@eliandkate]

Yeah slugs are a pain for us too but I’ve learned that I have to learn to work with them as nothing will completely stop them So I keep things tidy best I can, minimise hiding spots for them and try to keep with open as much as possible. Sometimes we just have to accept that we are sharing our space with nature 😀

[@carolinebown8686]

It sure did put a smile on my face ... Im sure you can read my mind ... as Ive been wondering about whether I should mulch or not ... as always full of fabulous advice ... Thank you 😊😊😊 xx

[@eliandkate]

Glad it came at a good time for you 😍

[@Garden-of-weeden]

Great info there Eli! I must start putting that into practice x

[@eliandkate]

😂😂😂 we’re all guilty of not getting around to putting things into practice

[@Garden-of-weeden]

@@eliandkate I think it’s more that I’m moving to raised beds which perhaps need more watering than my traditional beds do tho so far my raised beds are holding up to the dry hot weather we’ve been having tho my ground has so many cracks in it already 😓

[@eliandkate]

We’re the other way completely Our soil is heavy clay so it holds moisture so we’ll and nutrients but it’s really difficult to work with and limits what we can grow in it. So the raised beds just give us a bit more flexibility

[@Garden-of-weeden]

@@eliandkate mines heavy clay too but without mulching it dries so quickly with being in the open 😁

[@susanblauss5829]

Thank you so much for the reminder to pull the mulch away from the garlic. This is only my second year growing it and I had overwintered it under a thick layer of mulch. We have also had a cool spring, so I just pulled all of it off so that the soil can dry a bit. I couldn’t resist and did pull one garlic and it looks fantastic lol I know I have to wait until towards the end of July to pull the rest.

[@eliandkate]

Oh that’s fab it’s looking good Remember that this was my situation here, you may not have any problems at all. Just gotta go with your garden 😍

[@kennytait9865]

Hi eli great video can I ask where did you get the connectors for your blue pipe to make your hoop frames cheers

[@eliandkate]

They were part of a kit from quickcrop They do the individual bits or all of it as a kit

[@ninemoonplanet]

Call me weird but my "mulch" is coffee filters. They're great for starting carrots, keeping slugs (ugh) down, and they're already used for making my coffee. I flatten them, tear them to fit around tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers. For my sad blueberries, I have small rodent bedding, basically shaved of wood. Strawberries get the filters cut in quarters layered.

[@eliandkate]

You might be the first person to tell me about coffee filters but yeah, why let it go to waste especially if it’s compostable 😍

[@ninemoonplanet]

Plus the grounds stuck on the paper are high in nitrogen.

[@eliandkate]

Once that composts down it’ll be awesome 😍

[@growwell8872]

I use one of my greenstalks for Strawberries, one for greens and one for herbs-I don’t have to mulch them in the greenstalk because the fruit falls over the edges-same idea as the mulch. They survive winter & come back earlier than the ones I have in a bed! Loved seeing yours in the background! Looks like we need to find you a couple more US garden friends to get you a couple more Greenstalks! 😬👩🏼‍🌾😎

[@eliandkate]

We were saying we absolutely understand why folk have 3 or 4 of them lol Filled it up too quickly

[@Irishwoman004]

Cats are driving me mad so keeping this in mind once I have created decent beds. Went out this morning to find my newly planted alyssum seedlings ripped up- fuming!

[@eliandkate]

Yeah they go for anywhere it’s easy, so bare earth and soil with small plants and seedlings The pebbles have made a huge difference for us

[@no-one-no-one]

As both a cat owner and gardener, I have found the best thing to do is cross cross garden canes around newly planted seedlings, as the plant grows rearrange, once the plants get to a decent size and cover the bed the cats move on. Hope this helps

[@nicolabradley5761]

Do you use a particular type of straw? I mulched with straw a couple of years ago but it all sprouted into grass and was a real pain in the butt to sort so its put me off somewhat! Your garden and veg looks fab.

[@eliandkate]

ah yeah this is a common issue... it's not a particular type of straw, more that you need to make sure its straw and not hay. Hay will still have seeds and basically its like adding weeds :(

[@vanessawilkinson9855]

I have an almost full sack of Bedmax Horse Bedding (pine shavings). I used it a couple of years ago to store my beetroot in. Could I use this as a mulch on anything or would it interfere in the nutrients? That’s a dark straw?

[@eliandkate]

It wouldn’t interfere with the nutrients anymore than other organic mulched do. I’m guessing it’s not used, it’s fresh 😀

[@vanessawilkinson9855]

@@eliandkate Thankyou …. Yep def fresh 😉

[@docgrannrsgardencooking8719]

Thank you!! ❤

[@eliandkate]

😍😍😍😍

[@annickaprevander9863]

Thanks❤

[@eliandkate]

You’re most welcome 😍

[@janegreenland-murray4758]

Where do you buy straw mulch from ?

[@eliandkate]

You can get it from your local garden centre, online or even buy it from pet stores who sell straw as pet bedding.

[@suemcdonagh7650]

I was wondering if there were different types of straw as I bought some from the pet shop to mulch around my strawberries a couple years ago then it started sprouting!! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated x

[@eliandkate]

Hmmmm ok I suspect that was hay rather than straw Hay can still have seeds which is why we avoid it. Worth double checking what they are selling 😍

[@mags9536]

Im always worried slugs and snails would be attracted to hiding under the straw

[@eliandkate]

Slugs especially are a problem in our damper gardens and they will love being under a mulch if you let them. Like I always say, keep the garden tidy, have as few secret hiding spots for them as possible and that’ll help reduce them. I’ve long ago accepted I can’t stop them, they are part of the garden, but I can try to discourage them

[@scottishmama4684]

I need new glasses, I thought the still for this video was you holding a terantula!

[@eliandkate]

Eek! No