caesg
Pro Member
Posts: 152
Zone:: 5b
Favorite Vegetable:: Butternut Squash
Joined: April 2018
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Post by caesg on Jul 4, 2019 16:43:14 GMT -5
I have access to a steady supply of burlap sacks from a local coffee roaster.
I started out covering my entire plot at the community garden with burlap sacks. What I observed was that it helped with retaining water (drip lines ran over the ground and under the sacks). Yay! However, I noticed there were also places where this white stuff seemed to be cropping up. It looked like mold or maybe fungus.
So, I've pulled up all my burlap. Boooo.
Although, maybe that was a bit hasty. Maybe I leave the burlap in place except in the spots where the potential fungus was growing and leave that spot open to the air.
Any thoughts, observations or experiences?
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Post by Gianna on Jul 4, 2019 18:52:50 GMT -5
It sounds like a fungus growing. I'd just ignore it. Using the bags sounds good.
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Post by september on Jul 4, 2019 19:21:37 GMT -5
I'd sure use it if I could get it cheaply. I put used carpeting between the rows in my woods garden, and it lasted for many years, but now grass and weeds are growing on/through it and you can hardly tell it's there. Was the ground underneath much damper in the areas where the mold popped up?
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Post by paquebot on Jul 4, 2019 19:34:46 GMT -5
Definitely continue using it. It is just breaking down naturally. Molds and bacteria which specialize in decomposition seldom bother living plants. Only disadvantage to using burlap is that it's life expectancy is short. As soon as it becomes damp, it begins breaking down,
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by guruofgardens on Jul 4, 2019 20:34:15 GMT -5
True, paquebot. One of the gals in the community garden is using burlap for hail protection on the tomatoes and peppers. It's only been a month since she started using it and the burlap has almost disintegrated because of all the rain. I would assume it would be a similar situation using the burlap for mulch. For free, I would definitely use it for one season.
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caesg
Pro Member
Posts: 152
Zone:: 5b
Favorite Vegetable:: Butternut Squash
Joined: April 2018
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Post by caesg on Jul 12, 2019 10:42:19 GMT -5
Thanks for the input, everyone. I've relaid down the burlap and realized that I can just cut straight through rather than removing and replacing it all the time. (Obvious, you'd think!) Also, that rather than cutting down the burlap to fit around existing plants that I can just cut the bags open and then cut a large X in to fit around the existing plants and then the X shape lays back down to cover all the surrounding earth. Much easier than what I'd been doing! It's also nice that it looks much nicer. It's nice when things work out so that what's good for the garden is also aesthetically pleasing. Gianna . Thanks for the feedback. I wouldn't have known that fungus is a-okay. Anything I might want to watch for in regards to fungus? september . While there are definitely areas that are damper than others (need to work with the irrigation guardians on that), the fungus location was set away from the mud pits. Regarding the burlap, my sense is that you live in a more rural location, is that right? If so, do you have a monthly or quarterly trek in to the city for stuff that's hard to get locally? paquebot . Thanks for the feedback! That makes sense the decomposition-type mold and bacteria wouldn't harm the plants. As for burlap decomposing quickly, as long as I don't mind laying it back down, seems that should be fine. I've got an unlimited supply from the coffee roasters. Some of the "burlap" is a little shiny and I think might have some plastic mixed in. So, I'll have to check on those bags. Otherwise, as long as I don't hurt the growing plants while laying the burlap down and I've got sufficiently sharp scissors or box cutters, I think we're good to go! guruofgardens . Oooh, I hadn't thought of the hail protection angle. We can get that in the Autumn, here. Thanks for the tip!
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Post by paquebot on Jul 12, 2019 12:42:21 GMT -5
Burlap is jute and may have a shiny or glossy appearance and is 100% biodegradable. could not get it during WW2 so hemp was grown to replace it. Next town NW of here had a hemp mill and my stepfather's farm raised it. Check out jute on Wikipedia. Coffee sacks are depicted. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jute Martin The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by september on Jul 13, 2019 9:00:25 GMT -5
caesg , it's about 15 miles to either of two small towns that I live between. Actually, one is a small city which is sufficient for our needs, but still, there are many chain stores that don't exist here. Farming is marginal here, poor sandy soil and too much forested land, so not as many farm supply stores as you might expect in a rural area. I can get most of what I need locally at Fleet Farm or our Co-Op or Menards. I really hate to spend time driving and the large cities are around 200 miles away, so can't think of anything I've driven for specially. Much as I don't like the monopoly, Amazon works for me, too.
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Post by farmerjack41 on Jul 13, 2019 13:40:56 GMT -5
Like to use burlap to cover carrots when I plant seed. Really helps to keep the ground moist until they set started. Getting harder to find used around here any more. Have bought at a fabric store, but is too light weight. Does not hold moisture good.
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