Garden Party: Sheet mulching

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Sheet mulching

Sheet mulching is a gardening and landscaping method that allows planting into or on top of the ground and is a form of no-dig gardening: the process of covering any base or unwanted plant material including weeds, old lawn or open ground with a layers of materials known as the barrier, compost and mulch.

Benefits

The effect reduces maintenance costs, increases water storage, prevents erosion and improves soil. It also makes it possible to create garden areas without hard digging first where environmental or physical restrictions apply.

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There [are] no hard and fast rules about what to use for your layers, just so long as it's organic and doesn't contain any protein (fat, meat, or bone).

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The basics

"Don't remove the sod or do any extra work, like removing weeds or rocks.
Mark the area for your garden using a water hose or a long rope to select the desired shape.
Cover the marked area with wet newspapers, cardboard or other paper-based product, overlapping the edges using at least five sheets.
Cover the paper with one to two inches (2.5 to 5 cm) of peat moss, peat moss substitute or other moisture holding organic material.
Layer several inches of organic material such as straw, leaves, grass clippings, or garden waste on top of the peat moss.
Continue to alternate layers of peat moss and organic material, until desired depth is reached.
Water until the garden is the consistency of a damp sponge.
regularly increase soil level by introducing large amounts of mulch and compost to your garden and sheet mulched area.

Source

Bay Friendly Landscape Guidelines published by Stopwaste.org - 777 Davis Street San Leandro CA 94577

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Gardening Jobs by Month - March

As soon as the soil is workable, add in manure or compost to prepare your garden for planting.

Did you test your soil? Make any necessary amendments, based on the results of your soil analysis.

The tomato season in the Northwest is about 120 days. Consider seeding indoors! Youâ€™ll want to seed at least 6 to 8 weeks before transplanting in late May (after hardening off plants).

Got compost? Check your compost bin, and you should have new material for spring mulching.

Plant trees and shrubs while itâ€™s still cool and wet. Apply a mix of compost and mulch in the planting hole AND all around the plants to preserve water and feed the roots. Just keep mulch away from the base/bark to avoid pests.

Now is the time to plant more berry plants; consider planting disease-resistant varieties.

Spray trees and shrubs to prevent predatory insects and diseases.

Apply compost over your garden and landscape areas to help improve the soil. Mix 2 to 3 inches into new beds or 1 inch into established beds.

Spread 2 to 4 inches of organic mulch (course ground bark or wood chips) to keep weeds from germinating.

If soil temperature is above 40 degrees and dry enough, you may be able to plant cool-season crops, such as carrots, beets, broccoli, kale, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes, and spinach.

If you have transplants in the yard, be sure to protect them from any late spring frosts with a cover.

Divide hosta, daylilies, and mums.

Cut back ornamental grasses a few inches above the ground.

Prune your houseplants after they have finished blooming. Remember to fertilize and water them as well.

Remove leaves from your lawn to prevent any diseases.

Improve your lawn soil and turf! Core aerate, overseed, and top-dress with 1/4 inch of compost.

Mow your lawn to about 2 inches in height to help feed the roots and cut out weeds.

Fertilize your shrubs and trees if they need it. If they are established and healthy, this may not be necessary.

Test your hoses and sprinklers to make sure that they work.

Asparagus and rhubarb plants can be planted as soon as the soil is workable.

Consider building raised beds if you have drainage problems or want to help warm the soil more quickly for a jump-start on gardening.

At the new moon, the lunar gravity pulls water up, and causes the seeds to swell and burst. This factor, coupled with the increasing moonlight creates balanced root and leaf growth. This is the best time for planting above ground annual crops that produce their seeds outside the fruit. Examples are lettuce, spinach, celery, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and grain crops. Cucumbers like this phase also, even though they are an exception to that rule.

In the second quarter the gravitational pull is less, but the moonlight is strong, creating strong leaf growth. It is generally a good time for planting, especially two days before the full moon. The types of crops that prefer the second quarter are annuals that produce above ground, but their seeds form inside the fruit, such as beans, melons, peas, peppers, squash, and tomatoes. Mow lawns in the first or second quarter to increase growth.

After the full moon, as the moon wanes, the energy is drawing down. The gravitation pull is high, creating more moisture in the soil, but the moonlight is decreasing, putting energy into the roots. This is a favorable time for planting root crops, including beets, carrots, onions, potatoes, and peanuts. It is also good for perennials, biennials, bulbs and transplanting because of the active root growth. Pruning is best done in the third quarter, in the sign of Scorpio.

In the fourth quarter there is decreased gravitational pull and moonlight, and it is considered a resting period. This is also the best time to cultivate, harvest, transplant and prune. Mow lawns in the third or fourth quarter to retard growth.