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Post by kevin1962 on Mar 11, 2011 14:55:26 GMT -5
Hello all,
I've been reading more and more about various types of mulches, including plastic varieties. In Minnesota, the soil takes it's own sweet time getting warm, so I've thought of applying a black plastic mulch before planting to speed it up a bit. Other sites have shown red mulches for increased production, and Gary Ibsen's Tomatofest site shows what appears to be white plastic mulch beneath his plants. Are there any particular rules about this?
Thank you, Kevin
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PVP
Tomatophile
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Only an Amateur
Posts: 798
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Post by PVP on Mar 11, 2011 16:56:27 GMT -5
White plastic mulch and silver plastic sheet mulch is appropriate for high heat, high sun environments where black plastic would attract and retain too much heat against the roots.
Silver plastic mulch can be helpful also where it will confuse flower thrips and onion thrips, thereby discouraging them landing on tomato vines. Thrips vector tomato spot wilt virus (TSWV).
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swampr
Global Moderator
Posts: 230
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Post by swampr on Mar 11, 2011 20:11:36 GMT -5
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Post by kevin1962 on Mar 12, 2011 10:54:41 GMT -5
Thanks guys! The web link was very interesting, though a bit confusing is so much as one doesn't really know what color to use for one's own region or type of vegetable grown. For instance, here in Minnesota, it can get very hot in the summer, but it could just as easily be cool and rainy. Black would seem to be good for heating up the ground, but not as good as clear. Clear would unfortunately allow weeds to grow, where as black wouldn't. Red apparently helps yields and shortens maturity days. Can be a difficult to know what's right.
Thanks, K
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PVP
Tomatophile
head spellerer
Only an Amateur
Posts: 798
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Post by PVP on Mar 12, 2011 13:02:04 GMT -5
Lots of clean wheat straw.
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Post by littleminnie on Mar 12, 2011 19:14:51 GMT -5
I like using black more like weed blocker fabric and then putting straw over it so no splashing. For veggies like peppers, eggplant, cucurbits, and sweet potatoes I use plain thin black plastic. For me it is a better choice ecologically since I am in sand.
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paulf
Tomato Gardener
Posts: 70
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Post by paulf on Mar 13, 2011 9:52:38 GMT -5
My recommendation is if you are looking for soil temp heat-up early and then to keep the weeds down later, is to consider using black landscape fabric rather than plastic. The black color will help to increase soil temperature a little earlier then will reduce weed growth later in the growing season. Water (in the form of rain) will flow through the fabric while with plastic the rain will puddle and roll off only in certain places. Soil heat will escape through the "breathable fabric' so it won't cook the soil in higher temps. When straw layers are added on top of the fabric, it becomes a soil cooler. If heavy enough fabric is used, it can be saved from one year to the next, for several years reducing the overall cost.
I have used red plastic, black plastic, clear plastic and landscape fabric as a mulch layer. For the home gardener, red plastic does not increase production enough to really notice. The negatives of using plastic of any color have been discussed. Fabric, while more expensive, especially on a large area, has more benefits than plastic. Plastic or fabric mulch would be better than no mulch at all. A layer of straw or grass clippings or other organic covering would make it better yet.
After all this, I have reverted to an older method of mulching, first for soil heat retention and then soil cooling. A couple layers of newsprint and then a layer of straw retains early heat and then acts as a soil cooler during the hottest part of the season and keeps weeds at a minimum. Water soaks through the mulch and retains moisture longer. After the season it can all be tilled into the soil to increase organic content. It is cheaper than plastic or fabric. LeSueur is close enough to Iowa (where I gardened for many years and experimented with mulches) so that we would be pretty comparable in climate. Your soil heats up about the same time as my experience.
Bottom line: Try what sounds good or try something else in a different part of your garden to see what works best. After a year or two or three it will become evident what you like. Keep us posted. This is the fun part of forums; hearing about experiences and different methods.
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Post by kevin1962 on Mar 13, 2011 23:32:23 GMT -5
Thank you Paul, that was very informative and helpful. I think will try several methods this year to see what works best for me.
Cheers, Kevin
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peppereater
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Post by peppereater on Mar 14, 2011 2:05:14 GMT -5
On one hand an organic mulch like straw, shredded leaves or grass clippings is best for moisture retention and adding organic structure and nutrients to the soil, and reducing summer heating, but for a weed barrier and/or early soil heating, there are different merits claimed for clear plastic, black plastic, red plastic and landscape fabric. My experience is much more from permanent plantings, and landscape fabric of good quality is excellent. Dupont makes one of the best. Tomato and vegetable gardening (annuals), in my experience, can benefit from soil warming with plastic sheeting, I can't say that weed barrier is as good as plastic for that purpose. I believe that mule posted a scientific study on another site that found clear plastic to be slightly better than black at soil warming, but in my experience, I believe that is related to climate. When I have used clear plastic, here in central Oklahoma, invasive weeds like bermuda grass thrived under clear plastic but were totally eliminated under black. My perception was that in my light colored, sandy soil, black plastic transmitted more heat to the soil than was absorbed by soil under clear plastic....as I say, I believe it was due to the absorption of heat of black plastic as opposed to absorption of heat in light colored soil. Either way, only a few degrees difference might be gained, from what I have read, compared to bare soil, and a few days advance in growth...to me, that can be important, as the number of days between too cool and too hot for pollination of tomatoes can be crucial. Several studies I have read concerning red mulch suggest that it has very little benefit if any, compared to clear or black... some claims are that it can confuse pests and deter damage, or that it reflects light in the spectrum that promotes growth...from what I have read, these claims cannot be substantiated. One thing about landscape fabric is that it will not retain heat overnight as much as plastic, so overall, it is not as efficient for heat retention, but...high quality landscape fabric is water permeable, oxygen permeable, much more conducive to root growth while still very retardant to weed growth, and can be used for easily 5 years or more...emphasis on high quality... The problem with any fabric or plastic is that it still must have a layer of mulch applied as temperatures rise in the summer, and with organic culture, the mulches should be amended to the soil, so that the sheeting must be removed and the mulch worked in...that begs the question of what is the proper mulch, fast decomposing material like leaves, grass, or straw, or persistent material like pine, cedar or cypress. or even permanent mulches such as gravel. It boils down to questions of specific climate and how much work you can put into the system, plus economics.
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Tom Akers
Tomato Gardener
Fishrman and Tomato Lover
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Post by Tom Akers on Mar 14, 2011 7:16:45 GMT -5
I recommend leaves and no tilling. ;D I also find it hard to believe anything heats up much faster in the spring than bare soil. Tom
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Post by reubent on Mar 15, 2011 0:22:25 GMT -5
round here the big commercial producers use black plastic with drip tape under it, mostly for weed suppression and early boost in growth. Once the heat of summer comes in the plants are big enough to shade the plastic a lot and reduce the excess heat it would collect. Tomatoes is the main crop, some melons occasionally and other things, but 99% of what I see grown like that is maters. If no irrigation is used the woven weed barrier would be the thing to use.
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