Sheet Mulching

[Triloba Tracker]

I'm experimenting with Sheet Mulching.
http://tobyhemenway.com/resources/how-to-the-ultimate-bomb-proof-sheet-mulch/

Anyone have any experience/advice in general? Anything that leaps to mind as far as pitfalls, etc?

Specifically I am also wondering if using clear or black plastic to cover the areas over winter would hinder or help speed decomposition.
I would normally not want to do anything to "solarize" the area and kill off beneficial organisms. But being winter and the fact that the top layer is simply woodchips (i.e. most of the bacteria are well below this layer) I'm wondering if it would be ok.

[barath]

Sheet mulching is a great technique.  I've done it in several places, and it works great.  The biggest problem is crabgrass (the really aggressive type that spreads via runners).  When I've sheet mulched crabgrass-covered areas, especially when I've done a sloppy job of covering it with cardboard (you really have to overlap the cardboard quite a bit), the crabgrass comes back in spots and you have to keep pulling it here and there for the subsequent years.  The other thing is that there's basically no such thing as using too much tree trimmings -- the most recent one I did was about 2 feet deep, and it's looking good so far.

Sometimes I inoculate it with garden giant mushroom spawn, but it's not really necessary.

[Saltcayman]

I wouldn't cover any areas with plastic. Just let nature take its course and add additional organic material as needed.  A great

[Triloba Tracker]

Thanks for the advice. I hope I wasn't too sloppy with the cardboard..we'll see.

My biggest annoyance right now is that birds are tearing it apart....I had done leaves for my bulk later and then sowed some crimson clover for a cover crop, so I don't have something heavy like woodchips on top.

Birds are just taking huge chunks out...the clover I planted too late so I may just mulch over it to keep the birds out or get some kind of scarecrow thing...

[phantomcrab]

Anyone have any experience/advice in general? Anything that leaps to mind as far as pitfalls, etc?

Here is a Penn State study on plastic mulches that may answer some of your questions. Good luck...
http://extension.psu.edu/plants/plasticulture/technologies/plastic-mulches

[greenman62]

i wouldnt use plastic anything actually.

What is the timeframe for planting in it ?
and what will you plant ?

when i did it, i didnt kill or cut up the grass. i figured lack of light would kill it
and mostly it did, except a few stubborn runners.
I inoculate mine with a handful of red wriggler worms
every few feet.
I also add a mix of used coffee grounds and soil i get from the base of other trees.
i throw a handful of soil every couple of feet, into the middle with the grounds and worms.

[Triloba Tracker]

i wouldnt use plastic anything actually.

What is the timeframe for planting in it ?
and what will you plant ?

when i did it, i didnt kill or cut up the grass. i figured lack of light would kill it
and mostly it did, except a few stubborn runners.
I inoculate mine with a handful of red wriggler worms
every few feet.
I also add a mix of used coffee grounds and soil i get from the base of other trees.
i throw a handful of soil every couple of feet, into the middle with the grounds and worms.

I won't be planting until mid-April at the earliest. Just planting melons and veggies. I pretty much followed the steps in the initial link I posted to the letter. I don't have a lot of compost so that was a limiting factor.

I suppose I will not do any plastic.

[Hollywood]

Since you don't have much compost, have you considered straw bale gardening? Then you don't have to worry about compost OR weeds. And you end up with a bunch of compost at the end of the growing season.

I've used plastic and various fabrics for solarizing and mulching in the past and I am not a fan. It ends up shredding and getting everywhere. Now I use deep layers of wood mulch from tree trimmers in the area.

[Triloba Tracker]

Thanks for the info, Hollywood.

Yes, I researched straw bale gardening a bit and it did sound attractive at first. But I decided i'd rather do something more in-tune with the soil and something I can build on and improve over time.

[Saltcayman]

Something heavier on the top layer like wood chips or pine straw does help keep it intact as the sheet decomposes.

[barath]

Something heavier on the top layer like wood chips or pine straw does help keep it intact as the sheet decomposes.

I second this.  For one of my first sheet mulches I used leaves, and the pile shrunk in size too quickly.  Since then I've almost exclusively used free tree trimmings delivered by tree trimming companies, and that has worked great.

[Triloba Tracker]

Good to hear regarding wood chips. I just got a free dump truck full delivered and have put a thick layer on all my sheet mulch areas.

[DimplesLee]

Prob won't be much help but if you are also growing bananas and you are patient enough to feed the old trunk bit bit into the shredder (its heavy and wet so try not to break the machine) its a good idea to spread the now mashed (doesn't come out as chips unlike woody branches) banana waste on top of the weeds you pulled, before you top it with cardboard.

Just a thin layer mind you - and a fresh trunk is soggy enough so doesn't need extra watering. I've had to find a way to get rid of all my past fruiting fallen bananas and "hiding" it in sheet mulches is a good way to go.

[Triloba Tracker]

Prob won't be much help but if you are also growing bananas and you are patient enough to feed the old trunk bit bit into the shredder (its heavy and wet so try not to break the machine) its a good idea to spread the now mashed (doesn't come out as chips unlike woody branches) banana waste on top of the weeds you pulled, before you top it with cardboard.

Just a thin layer mind you - and a fresh trunk is soggy enough so doesn't need extra watering. I've had to find a way to get rid of all my past fruiting fallen bananas and "hiding" it in sheet mulches is a good way to go.

Very nice!