I don't use wood chip mulch myself , what I use is cut grass and weeds that have been cut or pulled.....This time of year we get lots of rain, after July 4th till late Sep. to Oct. is the dry season..
Those things cost more than I am willing to spend....about 800 bucks. Maybe a call to the local tree trimmers? And when you use pine straw the tree is still there turning sunlight and water into more pine needles.
I usually get free wood mulch from the guys that trim around the power lines out here in the country..But the pine trees on the west side of the river where I live were cut down a hundred years ago and never replanted..
I have been waiting for the tree trimmers to come around where I live. Any good weed free mulch will work...especially if it is plentiful and free. Except walnut I guess.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/enviro...secrets-to-soil-fertility-exposed/amp/?espv=1 You might want to see this. But I am a garden fanatic. It will put some people to sleep.
Why won't any of my Spinach seed spout. I have twice made a mixture of 4 types of Spinach seeds and gently laid them in a bed rich with manure, sometimes less rich. Yet with all attempts, I cannot get any to sprout where some lettuce under the same circumstances does. I have tried it both my front yard and back. I have grown sweet shelling peas, lettuce, and warmer climate stuff like watermelon and corn. But, I cannot get spinach seeds to sprout. HELP!
When did you plant the seeds and where do you live? Dont mean to rub it in, but I'm a rookie and had great luck with spinach, and I planted in February (Texas).
Do a germination test. Take some seeds and place them between two paper towels. Put the towels on a plate or something so you can keep the paper towels damp. Set this on top of the refrigerator or someplace warm. A seed starting mat would be perfect but any warm place will do. Keep the paper towels moist but not wet. You may need to cover to keep it from drying out. Don't let it dry out...ever. In a few days the seeds should sprout. If not, you have bad seed. If they do sprout you can plant the rest of your seed in the ground...plant shallow and keep the top of the soil moist...don't let it dry out either. I usually put a thin layer of peat moss on top of hard to germinate seeds to keep the soil moist. I also add some dish soap to the water as a wetting agent for the peat. Get the peat moist before application. I hope this helps. You could also carefully plant the seeds you sprout in the paper towels.
http://dtninfo.alfafarmers.org/index.cfm?show=1&mapID=20 also check your soil temps. the above link may help.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/sranjndzig5rov7/IMG_20170522_101603569.jpg?dl=0 I don't know how to use the image function on this site. All I can give is a link to my photo on Dropbox (above). Anyway, these are my healthy bushbean plants. I over-seeded, and the mouse or whatever it was that was digging up the seeds has moved away, so now I probably have too many. Must I thin? You know how I feel about that, and none are weak or unhealthy! So it will be a very difficult choice. I suppose I could replant them somewhere in the yard. The planter box is 11.5" deep. Thanks.
I guess that's just a decision you will have to make on your own. I grow pole beans because of the better yield and I can grow vertically. There is a practice called wide row gardening. You get less yield per plant but more yield per sq. foot. If I lived where you do I would have a garden in my yard. Bean seeds are pretty cheap. I would thin if I thought they were crowded. I had to thin some corn already. I may have to thin some okra too. But this has been an exceptional year for me so far.
Some people will soak their seeds overnight before planting or rub them with fine sand paper to soften up their outer shell. I don't do either and have very mixed results with the stuff as well. When it does come up it is usually well after I have given up hope on it. I plant it more in the late summer toward fall though.
Calcium sulfate i.e. gypsum is supposed to work well for that as well. I have had people tell me that they break off the ends of matches and plant in the hole and it helps.
Thank You. The season was a "heads up" I plant my sweet shelling peas at Christmas and had a 7' tall jungle. Took a few years to learn when to plant.
You must be in a much more favorable climate than me. It is still very winter here until at least mid march though last frost date is late april most years. I kind of have a system now, but somewhere or the other I found a chart for my area that told me the planting windows for all the common vegetables for my area that helped me early on. May have come from the extension agent's office. can't remember now.
