Mulching with Hay

Yesterday we were talking about the backbreaking discipline of weeding and how it seems to be a never ending job.  Wouldn't it be great if vegetables grew with the vigor and stamina that weeds did?  You never have to 'baby' weeds.  They grow on their own and are healthy regardless the amount of rain, heat or cold, are other adverse weather condition.  Vegetables and plants that provide food on the other hand...

Well, I'll show you a practice that has worked for me so far in the war I'm waging against weeds.  Mulch. When the live oaks put on their new Spring leaves, I mow all the leaves and grass into piles and fill up the areas between the rows with leaves. Then as the vegetables start growing, I'll apply a thick, liberal coating of hay to the entire area.

Hay used as mulch

In addition to effectively blocking out the growth of weeds, the hay provides a nice 'bed' for vegetables.  In the picture below, you'll notice that my green beans are about to bloom.  I've positioned a nice blanket of hay beneath the plants for the green beans to rest upon.  In years past, I've noticed that the beans that sat on the moist ground for any length of time.get spots on them and spoil.  The same thing happens with yellow squash.  Hay used as mulch is effective in stopping this spoilage as the beans/squash stay high and dry, nestled in a nice dry bed of hay.

A blanket for the beans

Mulching vegetables like this really helps the plants during the hot summers, too, as the hay provides a layer of protection from the sun's evaporative power that saps the soil of its moisture.  Underneath that bed of hay is a multitude of microbial action going on along with beneficial bugs and earthworms enriching the soil.

Mulch around beans, tomatoes, and peppers

I wrap the hay securely around the base of the plants.  Any little gap that allows sunlight to penetrate to the soil level will encourage weed growth, so you've got to be vigilant.  One negative consequence of mulching with hay is the seeds that come along with the hay that becomes part of the weed seed bank in your garden for next year.  That is a significant downside to doing this, but it just means that you continue to add mulch year after year to block off each years' weeds that are waiting to germinate.  But I don't want to linger on the negative.  Hay used as mulch year after year decomposes and adds plenty of organic matter to your garden's soil and reduces compaction of the soil.  To me the benefits outweigh the negative aspects.

Hay is an effective barrier for weeds

I did a lot of reading about how people use mulch.  This process is modeled after what happens naturally in the forest as each year leaves fall and trees fall to the forest floor and decompose, building soil.  No one (but God) tends the garden of the forest, and things grow magnificently.  Using mulch just mimics the Creator's process.

Hay around young pepper plants

Admittedly, wood chips are one of the very best types of mulch to use, but I don't have access to wood chips.  Hay is a by-product of having cows.  Cows are extremely wasteful and will knock good hay to the ground, even with a hay ring, and trample it, poop and pee on it, rendering it useless for eating.  But that type hay is raked up and re-purposed for use in the garden.  Nothing goes to waste.  That's the way I like it.