The groundcover at my cottage is driving me to distraction.
It is a kind of light, fine redwood that is strand-like and comes in with every pet and visitor by the ton it seems. And it sticks like velcro to my carpets.
Can anyone guide me to a less clingy ground cover :hmmm:option whose primarey purpose is to keep weeds down?
KRossy
07-29-2009, 10:31 PM
sounds like you have bark. try wood chip! you can find it at the sonoma county dump.
Barry
07-29-2009, 11:10 PM
My experience with ground cover/mulch is that it eventually breaks down and the weeds come through, even with black plastic and/or newspaper underneath. So my answer now is to plant plants close together so there is no bare soil. It works pretty well!
The groundcover at my cottage is driving me to distraction.
It is a kind of light, fine redwood that is strand-like and comes in with every pet and visitor by the ton it seems. And it sticks like velcro to my carpets.
Can anyone guide me to a less clingy ground cover :hmmm:option whose primarey purpose is to keep weeds down?
Tars
07-30-2009, 05:56 AM
There are a bunch of live-cover options. What's the moisture & the sunlight like in the area that concerns you?
lynn
08-13-2009, 03:08 AM
I know people don't like to leave all that dirt for the weeds to sprout up...But, regarding the bees...I'm doing 'native' drought resistant plants, and am going to leave the dirt for the bees...
Guide To Bee-Friendly Gardens - Mulch Madness (https://nature.berkeley.edu/urbanbeegardens/general_mulchmadness.html)
..."So what is the big deal about bare dirt and bees? Between 60-70% of the native CA bee species dig tunnels in soil and provision a series of nest cells, each of which will contain one new bee offspring. To do this the female must find a patch of bare dirt, excavate a tunnel and then make repeated visits between the tunnel entrance and flowers for their pollen and nectar. If a nest-searching female encounters 1-2 inches of mulch or plastic where there should be bare dirt, she will not excavate through this material and will leave in search of an appropriate site. When a high number of gardeners in an area mulch or plasticate their soil, this can have a negative impact on bee populations. In a recent casual survey of 200 gardeners in the SFBA from 40-60% said they were mulchers!"...
nicofrog
08-17-2009, 01:08 PM
SO;
what you are referring to is Mulch,ground cover is a landscapers expression for small plants that grow close to the ground providing natural"Canopy" (shade) and a natural"mulching" effect.There are plenty of mulches available that will not stick to your feet.
As to the Bee issue,I think we have a situation where the entomologists are protecting their favorite species without looking very carefully at the "whole picture" I put that in quotes because I'm quite sure I have not seen it either! I often seem to end up in debates with the master gardeners at U.C.!
Mulching and plant ground cover is HUGELY important right now if you accept the concept of global WARMING weather change. WE have a prediction of much higher rainfall this winter that on the surface sounds like a good thing , unfortunately these days the storms come BIG and all the rain is dumped at once. the best way to conserve that water is mulch, bare ground will wash away down the drain. roof catchment is good but limited.
see Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond by Brad Lancaster (https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/events/)
If you look at any urban area from the air,you will notice ther are many many vacant lots,and areas being bulldozed and developed that have bare dirt galore,just drive through santa rosa. You can get beekeepers who will come almost anywhere you have good flowers and set up hives. another species that thrives on bare dirt is yellow jacket and paper wasps. very nessesary in nature but quite unpopular with humans in urban ares.
Right now we need more natural MULCH hosting worm populations snails and slugs(all soil builders) Not Plastic mulch that offers nothinjg to the soil.
Standard farming , even organic is done with bare dirt between the rows
Mulching it all would be to expensive and time consuming,wood chips break down to slowly,and act like gravel, hay is to expensive and heavy to haul.
around here we have a bazillion grape orchards with endless bare dirt(accept for the ones who are smart enough to grow fava in between!
I love the bees and care a lot about their population down turn...
but WATER is going to be a bigger and bigger concern if the weather keeps getting weirder. and with the Chinese building 220 new coal powered electric plants every year,I'm thinking Mulch and green cover.
If you need some bare dirt you can get plenty right next door,till the wind blows it away.
Nico
The groundcover at my cottage is driving me to distraction.
It is a kind of light, fine redwood that is strand-like and comes in with every pet and visitor by the ton it seems. And it sticks like velcro to my carpets.
Can anyone guide me to a less clingy ground cover :hmmm:option whose primarey purpose is to keep weeds down?(coco mulch is nice)
or for a local option thats free just screen som old woodchip pile.