Mulches provide ntany benefits for a garden NEWARK, Del.lf the weeds in your garden seem to have more energy than you do, why not try mulching? Delaware Ex tension horticulturist Dr. Charles Dunham says mulches cut down on weeds and also help the home gardener in a number of other ways. Mulches conserve water by cutting evaporation young’s ” V Roanng Spring Pa 16673 Livestock Nutritional Services RAY BRECHBILL NATE BUCKWALTER 717-626-5266 Denver, PA 215-267-6235 EARL UMBLE GEORGE WARNER Lancaster, PA Codorus, PA 717-393-3208 717-229-2134 JOHN RIE6EL Sinking Spring, PA CASSEL MUMMAU 215 ‘ 678 ' 2900 E. STUMP Mt. Joy, PA Carlisle, PA 717-643-4355 717-249-1387 jm SAME - OUR TRACTORS DON'T CLIMB WALLS... UNLESS THEY HAVE TO. Your Profits Are Important To Us: We protect them with a 2 years or 3.000 hrs. guarantee. CHECK THESE ADVANTAGES: • Air-cooled engines on all models. (Does not Freeze or Boil). • Savings of up to .40% on fuel. • Up to 40% less down time by eliminating water cooling. • Four-wheel system is engineered in... not an add-on. The heavy-duty transmission is designed for four-wheel drive. • Long and low design for best weight distribution. More weight on front drive wheels where it can be used. • SAME has constant 1% to 4% faster puli on front wheels. ★ TRACTORS IN STOCK - Ready For Delivery. losses, and may also help water penetrate into the soil, ' especially from hard showers, when most of the water normally runs off Mulches also protect vegetables and flower plants from splashing mud and dirt. Some mulches may even help protect plants from insect damage. Many kinds of materials make good mulches, HEISEY FARM RDI, Jonestown, PA 17038 Located Vz mile southjoLFredericksburg off Rt. 343 Business Hours: 7:00 A.M. Saturdays till Noon - Evenings by Appointment Dunham says. Practically anything will work, so long as it allows the penetration of water and does not pack to exclude air from the soil. Organic mulches break down-some faster than others-thereby enriching the soil. However, Dunham cautions, if the mulch contains a high ratio of carbon to nitrogen, a tem porary nitrogen shortage in the soil could result unless extra nitrogen is added. Sawdust and straw will do this. Where appearance is important such as around the house or in a flower bed, choose an attractive mulch. Many organic mulches provide a neat covering that makes a nice foil for flowers and shrubs. Availability and cost are jsai One trip through your field SAVES you TIME, MONEY and most important, your valuable SOIL! * 5 - 7 & 9 SHANK IN STOCK. CHECK THESE FEATURES: • Unique IW’ x 2” high clearance shanks. Choice of Torsion-Master or Spring-Master shanks. 15” spacing between shanks. • Heavy-duty 93 Vz” frame depth. Combination yoke-block clevis and tongue jack. “Converta-Hitch” allows easy leveling adjustment. • Hydraulic axles, 6 bolt hubs & rims for 111x15” floatation tires, transport safety-lock. 2 -8” stroke cylinders with stroke control for precise depth setting. • 20" dia. disc coulter blades slice stalks, leaves, stubble and root crowns into small bits, eliminates bunching and plugging. EQUIPMENT INC. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 5,1979 two prune factors in the choice of a mulch. Bark and wood chips are ideal mulches, especially for shrubs and ground covers. They are attractive and long-lasting. Use the coarser grades for trees and shrubs, the finer grades for flowers and ground covers, Dunham says. Apply a four to six inch layer for long-lasting weed control in shrubs. On flowers, however, use only one to two inches. Licorice root, sold as Right Dress, is one of the most satisfactory mulches for flower beds. Cocoa bean hulls are available in some areas. These do tend to pack, so they should not be used more than two inches deep. They are also sometimes toxic to azaleas. However, for many plants they are quite satisfactory and very at tractive. Grass clippings are among the cheapest and most readily available of mulches. The problem with grass clippings, however, is that they tend to rot and pack tightly. This can be overcome by drying the clippings first, or by stirring repeatedly until dry once in place. Grass clippings are probably most at home in the vegetable garden. Straw is another excellent mulch for the vegetable Phone: 717-865-4526 garden. Wheat straw is available for many fanners right now. Pine needles make an attractive mulch, especially for azaleas, rhododendrons, wild flowers, and in naturalistic settings. Coffee grounds are an excellent mulch for small areas. They have a nice texture and color. Black plastic is a good mulch for controlling weeds, although it may be hard to apply after plants are already in the ground. Widely used on vegetable gardens, it can be dressed up for the flower garden with a thin cover layer of another attractive mulch. Newspaper also makes an effective mulch that looks better when covered with a thin layer of another material. First give the soil some extra nitrogen fer tilizer. Then spread three to six sheets of newspapers on the ground. Cover with a fancier mulch material for the flower garden, or with a thin layer of soil for the vegetable garden in order to hold it in place. Another excellent mulch for weed control in vegetables is aluminum foil. It has the added advantage of keeping the soil cook It also aids plant growth by rejecting light back up under the plants. 15
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