importance of mulch...

[Ed of Somis]

I am growing tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and beans in containers this year. While most of my stuff is doing good...I think I can do better. How important do you think mulch is? Is there other advantages besides conserving water?

[JJJessee]

Weed suppression.
Keeps vegetable cleaner.
Builds habitat for earthworms, arthropods, and soil-building microbes.

[habitat_gardener]

Keeps feeder roots moister and cooler. When I pull away mulch in containers, I often see a mass of tiny rootlets. (I often use double pots to keep the roots from getting too hot in the sun -- so that the sun does not directly hit the container/roots.)

Gives worms a place to go when the pot is watered too much (or rained on).

Keeps soil from getting compacted, since wind and rain do not hit it.

[Ed of Somis]

I keep hearing about pots/roots getting too hot in containers. I get that. However, every retail nursery I have ever been to uses black plastic pots. Wouldn't this industry shy away from these if they jeopardized plants? Perhaps I should just roll my pots with white paint...and eliminate this possible threat of over-heated pots???

[mensplace]

ED, when I worked in a nursery as a teen those pots were watered by overhead sprinklers throughout the day and we still ended up throwing away a LOT of stock.

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by Ed of Somis

I keep hearing about pots/roots getting too hot in containers. I get that. However, every retail nursery I have ever been to uses black plastic pots. Wouldn't this industry shy away from these if they jeopardized plants? Perhaps I should just roll my pots with white paint...and eliminate this possible threat of over-heated pots???

In nurseries, the pots are surrounded by other pots, and the sun does not heat the sides of all the pots. Also, the pots are temporary. In my gardens, the pots are spaced farther apart because the plants in them need some room to grow. For pots where the sun might shine on the sides of the pots (where only the thin black plastic is between roots and sun's heat), I often add a double pot to protect the roots.

Sometimes I add mulch in the space between the planted pot and the double pot. I've done this with blueberries, where I intended to keep the blueberry plants in the pots for more than a season or two.

[Worth1]

Protecting the pot from radiant heat (as in direct sunlight) would be far better than painting the pot and having it in direct sunlight.


Worth

[drew51]

Originally Posted by Ed of Somis

I keep hearing about pots/roots getting too hot in containers. I get that. However, every retail nursery I have ever been to uses black plastic pots. Wouldn't this industry shy away from these if they jeopardized plants? Perhaps I should just roll my pots with white paint...and eliminate this possible threat of over-heated pots???

No the idea is you take them home, they die, you buy more. very few actually ask for refunds.

I saw that the smart pot people published data about pots getting up and even over 120 degrees F.
The fabric pots expell the heat. I myself will only be using fabric from now on. Not just for the cooler conditions, but for the air pruning also.

I'm a firm believer in university and academic studies
http://smartpots.publishpath.com/Web...nt-Science.pdf
http://smartpots.publishpath.com/Web...-in-Fabric.pdf

[Freddy]

Interesting discussion. I know I should have started with a larger container but what about the material? My tomato plant is in a 18 x 16RD molded fiber container. It says......

• Engineered to breathe
• Promotes healthy roots
• Made with 42% recycled paper (I doubt the roots care)
  

Is this sort of container a problem? I've been watering twice per day lately.

[drew51]

No, I think any fabric container will be good. yes, the one drawback. it dries quickly. I use peat and compost to try and hold more water. I use Root pouches myself, very cheap!
I do have some pots, I will use till they break. You can notice plants are greener and larger in the fabric containers. The 4th pot down and all the rest are root pouches. Peppers at the end. i also have in ground tomatoes. Mulch is pine straw. The black pots are Carmine Jewell bush cherries (2nd year). The clay pot is 1 of 3 Tzimbalo, the other two are in fabric.
That's Jesse the wonder dog keeping all forms of animals away from the plants.

[Freddy]

Yes, I've noticed they dry out quickly. I'll get some sort of mulch on the surface of the soil. I won't need much for the one plant.

Thanks Drew...

[peppero]

Mulching is good for the plants and the ground. I have a raised bed garden and ALL beds are mulched . I recommend it.

jon

[Ed of Somis]

habitat....you make a couple of excellent points! Sometimes the practicality of an answer to a problem escapes me in my old age...hehe

[drew51]

In the text of the links I provided it is discussed and demonstrated that the black nursery pots become extremely hot (130F* in the article).

* source - Michael A. Arnold and Garry V. McDonald
Dept. Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

[shatbox]

Originally Posted by drew51

I use Root pouches myself, very cheap

Well since we are on this topic, what sizes do you use for tomatoes and peppers?