Mulch or no mulch

[Cameron91]

Hi new to veg growing and would you use mulch or not. Various things growing outside.
Sprouts
Cabbages
Carrots
Potato’s
Blueberry
Blackberry
Raspberry

 

[headfullofbees]

Yes, Yes, No, Yes, DOUBLE YES, No, Yes.

 

[Cameron91]

Yes, Yes, No, Yes, DOUBLE YES, No, Yes.

Thank you. Is there a reason some are no some are yes.

 

[Cameron91]

Yes, Yes, No, Yes, DOUBLE YES, No, Yes.

And double yes on the blueberry ?

 

[Tetters]

Thank you. Is there a reason some are no some are yes.

I bet he'll say no no no no yes

 

[Meadowlark]

Sprouts...I don't grow
Cabbages...no
Carrots...no
Potato’s...yes and hill them up with dirt if you can as they grow
Blueberry...yes
Blackberry...yes
Raspberry...yes

 

[oneeye]

I would cover all the bare soil that's bare with a layer of hay or well-composted compost. The Sun gets very hot when it's direct at any time of the day in Summer. Conserving water and keeping the plant roots cool is the best policy in the Summer garden.

 

[headfullofbees]

Thank you. Is there a reason some are no some are yes.

Yes.






Brassicas do not tend to have hugely efficient root systems, & will thrive when water is near the surface.
Carrots, on the other hand want as good drainage as possible, to the extend that those who grow for show often grow in half sand.
Potatoes don't like to dry out too much, especially when the tubers are bulking up. Mulch gives the benefits associated with humidity for the roots, without the problems of humidity for the foliage.
The reasons for the double yes for blueberries, is that there are two very good reasons for mulch:
1) The usual water retention benefits for fruit trees/bushes.
2) The decomposition of a mulch like grass cutting leaves behind a little acid, which blueberries love.
Blackberries are so easily propagated, & so invasive that, while i might water them in drought, I won't mulch them, or you'll be playing the weed version of whack-a-mole.
Raspberries are very close relations to blackberries, but not nearly as invasive, so not the same problem.
CAUTION!!!
When I mulch plants, I pull the mulch back from the stems themselves by a couple of inches, so they neither rot, nor does decomposition spread to the plants.