Question straw mulch=weeds?!

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chicken
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straw mulch=weeds?!

Post by chicken » Fri Jun 29, 2018 5:50 am

So I decided since I hate weeding I would put straw around all my vegetables this year. Now I have a field of grass growing and the worst case of weeds that I have ever had. I thought straw was a good choice?!
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Killerbunny
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Re: straw mulch=weeds?!

Post by Killerbunny » Fri Jun 29, 2018 7:48 am

We let a "friend" grow garlic on our property when she was moving so she could keep her seed stock growing. She mulched with straw and was too lazy to weed (we did some). We have been fighting weeds ever since which is a bummer because the beds were looking good previously.
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chicken
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Re: straw mulch=weeds?!

Post by chicken » Fri Jun 29, 2018 7:53 am

I'm so surprised and annoyed because its going to take me hours to pull these weeds. So what is best to use any idea?
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Re: straw mulch=weeds?!

Post by Ontario Chick » Fri Jun 29, 2018 7:54 am

If you actually used straw for mulch, it might be grain that you are growing ;)
the beds have to be absolutely clean before you mulch, otherwise you are providing excellent growing conditions not only for your veggies, but also for the weeds.
I find last big weeding in June, and with good deep mulch thats it for the rest of the summer.
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Re: straw mulch=weeds?!

Post by windwalkingwolf » Fri Jun 29, 2018 11:16 am

Grasses, including barley, oats and wheat (what straw is usually "made" of) just LOVE growing in damp moldering straw, and the seeds remain viable for many years. As OC said, lay it on thick. If the grasses are easy to pull, they're coming from the straw. If they're not, they're coming from the soil. Grass in your garden is darn near unkillable. In my experience, the only grass that CAN be killed easily, is in the sod you just paid hundreds or thousands for LOL
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Re: straw mulch=weeds?!

Post by Farrier1987 » Fri Jun 29, 2018 2:09 pm

Just pretend its Christmas. Hoe Hoe Hoe all the time.
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Re: straw mulch=weeds?!

Post by Shnookie » Sat Jun 30, 2018 10:50 am

I mulched my garden with straw one year. I had a huge problem with weeds, but I don't think they came from the straw. I believe the seeds were already in the soil and the mulch just kept them moist enough to germinate. My garden had not been used for years before I moved here and it has been almost impossible to get rid of the weeds and grass.
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Re: straw mulch=weeds?!

Post by Ontario Chick » Sat Jun 30, 2018 11:45 am

Sadly, mulching on it's own will not do the job.
even if the garden is completely weeded in the fall, the seeds that have blown in during the fall will germinate in the spring.
In my ever so long ;) experience, at least two weedings have to happen in the spring, before the mulch can be put on and work well.
First weeding before veggies are planted, usually whatever was left from last year, and then most importantly, usually sometime in June, when EVERYTHING busts out with great enthusiasm, weeds more then veggies, is the all important weeding, after which a nice deep mulch of straw or anything else you have that doesn't have any seeds in it,
even if an occasional weed pokes thru, it's easy to pull.
I will have a lovely crop of oats or barley this year, depending on the grain the straw came from, but since these are annuals not really a problem.
By the end of summer, most of the straw will break down and will improve the soil.
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Re: straw mulch=weeds?!

Post by chicken » Sat Jul 07, 2018 7:28 am

I pulled it all, it was from the straw seeds. Oh well at least they were easy to pull. Call me lazy but I don't enjoy weeding. I'm mulching my flower gardens today but not with straw lol.
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Re: straw mulch=weeds?!

Post by KimChick » Sat Jul 07, 2018 11:11 am

Since I did not mulch my flower gardens, because it was a work in progress, and there were lots of rocks of different sizes in the sandy soil... we put rocks against the base of the parged garage wall. The Anise Hyssop (in the mint family) reseeded itself all in between the pile of rocks. And I thought we had prevented that. *sigh*
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