When to Mulch Newly Planted Tomatoes?

jcr1709 · May 28, 2011

Hi,

I've heard on a few occasions to wait to mulch your newly planted tomatoes a few weeks until the soil has had a chance to warm up. It has been a rather cold spring this year and just got my tomatoes in today. I intend on simply mulching with grass clippings.

Also, should those grass clippings dry out first before using as mulch?

Thanks in Advance,

Jamie

kath · May 28, 2011

If the ground is cold, a heavy layer of mulch will help keep it that way, but a light covering of grass clippings can help keep soil from splashing up on the leaves and retard weed growth. So I like to use clippings asap for those reasons, putting a circle of clippings around the plant just out as far as the leaves reach. If I don't have dried clippings, I'm just extra careful not to get them on the leaves or around the stems. Each week I widen the circle to protect the new growth from soil splash up.

TZ-OH6 · May 28, 2011

I usually wait for the soil to warm, and put newspaper down under the grass clippings to stop weeds. I let the clippings dry on the lawn for a day to make raking and transport easier, but the tomatoes wouldn't care if they were fresh cut.

I also mulch with last years leaves (usually wet and matted) but they have to be covered with grass clippings or they heat up in the sun and cook the plants because of the dark color.

Ozark · May 30, 2011

I mulch with fresh grass clippings, about 5 or 6 inches thick. They pack down to half that later, on their own. When putting the mulch down, I'm careful to keep it a couple of inches away from my plants.

The reason I use clippings fresh from the mower is to get rid of weeds. I'm putting mulch down at the same time millions of crabgrass and other seedlings are sprouting, in spite of the fact that I've tilled the garden a couple of weeks before. A couple of days after being put down, those grass clippings get so hot I can't stand to stick my hand under them - and they cook all those little weeds.

May 28, 2011	#1
jcr1709 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Middlefield, Connecticut Posts: 24	When to Mulch Newly Planted Tomatoes? Hi, I've heard on a few occasions to wait to mulch your newly planted tomatoes a few weeks until the soil has had a chance to warm up. It has been a rather cold spring this year and just got my tomatoes in today. I intend on simply mulching with grass clippings. Also, should those grass clippings dry out first before using as mulch? Thanks in Advance, Jamie

May 28, 2011	#2
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	If the ground is cold, a heavy layer of mulch will help keep it that way, but a light covering of grass clippings can help keep soil from splashing up on the leaves and retard weed growth. So I like to use clippings asap for those reasons, putting a circle of clippings around the plant just out as far as the leaves reach. If I don't have dried clippings, I'm just extra careful not to get them on the leaves or around the stems. Each week I widen the circle to protect the new growth from soil splash up.

May 28, 2011	#3
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 848	I usually wait for the soil to warm, and put newspaper down under the grass clippings to stop weeds. I let the clippings dry on the lawn for a day to make raking and transport easier, but the tomatoes wouldn't care if they were fresh cut. I also mulch with last years leaves (usually wet and matted) but they have to be covered with grass clippings or they heat up in the sun and cook the plants because of the dark color.

May 30, 2011	#4
Ozark Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ozark, Mo. Posts: 201	I mulch with fresh grass clippings, about 5 or 6 inches thick. They pack down to half that later, on their own. When putting the mulch down, I'm careful to keep it a couple of inches away from my plants. The reason I use clippings fresh from the mower is to get rid of weeds. I'm putting mulch down at the same time millions of crabgrass and other seedlings are sprouting, in spite of the fact that I've tilled the garden a couple of weeks before. A couple of days after being put down, those grass clippings get so hot I can't stand to stick my hand under them - and they cook all those little weeds.