How to Use Every Mulch: The Ultimate Growers' Guide

Today's video is a total mulch breakdown.

We cover: how to use straw, what is straw, what is hay, how to use hay, mulching with leaves, mulching with cardboard, garden mulching, mulching with compost, no dig, deep compost, living mulches, perennial cover crops, planting in compost without soil, and more!

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[jeas]

I love undercropping. I have used white dutch clover, radishes, petunias, and strawberries, lettuce, basil, marigolds, nastursiums and machê.. I never plant any squash without first laying down a bed of radishes. I have used strawberries, petunias, and white dutch clover under okra and peppers (I tend to plant peppers under okra for sun protection). Tomatoes get undercropped with basil, and lettuces, and marigolds. Root crops benefit from an early spring "burn" .. I have equipped my husband with a flame thrower (which non-Marines may reference as a "weed burner") and anywhere I've mulched or underplanted with a substance that dies or is dry... hubby burns it for spring and we cover it with compost. The only issues I've had intercropping/undercropping comes with laying down white dutch clover too thick and too early; it choked out my starter transplants... we use it primarily in our walkways now and in permanent spaces where we previously mulched with shredded hardwood mulch (rose and bulb gardens, arround fruit trees).

[Wildewhitley]

Hay: 2:44
Straw: 6:00
Compost: 11:17
Leaves: 15:20
Cardboard: 16:50
Grass clippings: 18:00
Woodchips: 18:50
Plastics: 23:18
Live mulches: 19:30
Nerds: 25:50

[PotHeadDegree]

Jesse, I've been learning from you for years and your knowledge has contributed to not only the growth of my garden, but also growth of myself as a human, a father and I truly thank you. You've helped me turn my hobby into a way to inspire, teach, and pass on lessons that carry over from a garden to all aspects of life.

[illegalsmilez]

I could listen to this guy talk all day. He explains things so damn well

[natsellar]

Dude.... your info is awsome. I'm doing no dig organic in Japan. I use spent beer grains from the local craft brewery to insulate my gardens. I top the grains off with home made semi decomposed mulch. There is no need to fully decompose... just need to bring the temp up high enough to kill most of the weed seeds. Amazing results! Pros and cons... but mainly pros. I just spread the grains on top bed by bed, week by week, then cover them with a light layer of mulch. About 200kg/ week in a thin layer covers about 25m squared . I barely have to water the garden. Third year in and there are almost no bug problems. A balance of predator and prey insects. I keep getting comments about how the vegetables taste more flavorful and different from the store bought ones. It's wonderful! Thanks again for another great video.

[mslorischoolsocialworker]

I've gotten great results from putting shredded leaves on beds and then throwing a little compost over them to hold them down as Jessie suggests. It has made a huge difference in our Missouri clay soil. We attach a lawn sweeper to our 4 wheeler to make it easy to collect all our leaves.

[nickbono]

I live in NorCal and I planted some onions this fall and I have a ton of California poppies growing in between them because I allowed the few poppies in my yard go to seed last year. It’s protecting my soil from the rain, and poppies have a relatively large taproot. So far I haven’t had problems with it, and my onion patch is going to look beautifully orange in a few more weeks!

[PhiNguyen-hprh]

[4:00] The way you broke it down here made it so easy to understand. Great job! 🙌

[garrettscott]

Another killer video. When building our brand new beds, we actually put down a layer of cardboard, then leaf mulch, and then soil, and finally a finished compost mulch. Our heavy clay soil really benefit from the added organic matter, and helps to drain excess water from the beds.

[tczubernat]

This video was very valuable to us. We operate a small non-profit community garden, which has expanded into a mini farm . . . really mini. We've experimented with various mulches over the years with similar results to yours, so having our amateur-ish findings corroborated by professional farmer guy (say that with an Eastern European accent, it works better) is invaluable. Thanks for your work and your "jokes."

[GarnetReign]

12:23 From Maine here. We're one of the few states actually looking into PFAS, so I'm glad to hear you mention it.

[clareeaden]

Having really good success with living mulches on Raspberries. White clover. Saves loads of time and money on alternatives. Keeps the raspberry roots cool, which is really important. 😊

[SoberOKMoments]

A garden, like all life, is an experience in joy and sorrow, of living full and letting go. You've done wonders with this one and what a blessing to leave it in good hands so that you can add more to your own life - and knowledge. You've already helped thousands from this one lovely plot of land and given it a legacy that now lives on. Well done, and much success going forward.

[sethl]

I never thought of cover crops being crops I don't have to harvest. I always think of it as compost I don't have to move!
Now I have two things to encourage me while crimping them.

[Leonardvassallo]

Eelgrass collected from my shoreline makes a great mulch especially on garlic, potatoes and around large brassicas.

[larrycj]

I gardened for 10 years and stoped because of weeds. I found woven landscape fabric and I started gardening again. Then I found your channel and I’m working on removing the fabric. But, the fabric did bring me back. Thanks.

[TheSimpleFarmLife]

Loved the tips on organic gardening at 1:50—super helpful! 🌿

[AlexAnder-rvgu]

Our family found Horsetail Weed was an amazing living mulch for our beans. We grow in hard clay and they really help keep the moisture in, so it doesn't bake in the sun. - Northern Ontario; zone 3

[naomiroyle]

My favorite right now, since I help with skirting sheep fleeces, is wool that has been soaked and rotted. Worms love it. Sometimes I will just lay it on my paths right off the critters. It can get bunched up if dry. After the rainy season, I'll throw it in the 5-year compost pile. Lovely to walk on if it is fairly clean and just too short or weak for processing. Use the stuff loaded with dirt, etc for elsewhere. Wool prices are dirt (pun intended) cheap.

[EmmaCollins-eo]

[1:35] Love the energy in this part! It really lifted my mood 😊