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Mulch is also used as winter and spring coverings for low growing small fruits, to slow flowering and fruiting, or to protect them from injury from late frosts.

Common material for mulching the vegetable garden include straw, hay and leaves. The mulch is usually built up 4 to 6 inches high for maximum protection.

The question has arisen as to whether it is smarter, and more effective to mulch versus cultivating. The answer, not surprisingly, is that it depends. A general rule of thumb is that vegetables with a long growing season benefit from mulching, while short and early season vegetables require relatively little cultivation, and so it’s of less value to expend the cost to mulch them.

Plastic mulch is sometimes used to warm the soil before seeds or seedlings are planted, and to keep it warm during the early spring, when the heat of the sun can warm the soil even though the air is still crisp. Typically, though, the plastic mulch is removed once the season has progressed.

Another reason to choose mulch over cultivation is if you expect that your garden will need to be neglected over a period of time. If you’re planning a two-week summer holiday, by mulching the garden, you can minimize weed growth, and retain as much moisture as possible, so that your plants are more likely to survive your absence.

Lastly, mulch can be used as a winter fertilizer.
Fall leaves chopped by the lawn mower or leaf shredder make a perfect topper for the garden, especially if you use raised boxes. The layer of leaves protect the soil from the elements, reducing soil loss through the winter, and come spring, the mostly decomposed leaves can be turned into the soil, providing valuable nutrients to the garden.

Johnny Cartwright has 1 articles online

While Johnny Cartwright enjoys numerous outdoor sports and recreation activities, he’s always involved in new things. His latest website reviews products like Avanti wine coolers and informs visitors about other available wine cooler refrigerators and wine accessories.

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“Japan is a world apart – a cultural Galapagos where a unique civilization blossomed, and thrives today in delicious contrast of traditional and modern. The Japanese spirit is strong, warm and incredibly welcoming.” – Chris Rowthorn, Lonely Planet Writer

Our Promise

You can trust our travel information because Lonely Planet authors visit the places we write about, each and every edition. We never accept freebies for positive coverage, and you can rely on us to tell it like we see it.

Inside This Book…

8 expert authors
167 temples & shrines
357 Japanese restaurants
Over 100 onsen (hot springs)
Inspirational photos
Comprehensive planning tools
Pull-out city map
Easy-to-read layout
In-depth background
Skiing in Japan feature

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At last–the long-awaited complete compendium of tightwad tips for fabulous frugal living!

In a newsletter published from May 1990 to December 1996 as well as in three enormously successful books, Amy Dacyczyn established herself as the expert of economy. Now The Complete Tightwad Gazette brings together all of her best ideas and thriftiest thinking into one volume, along with new articles never published before in book format. Dacyczyn describes this collection as “the book I wish I’d had when I began my adult life.” Packed with humor, creativity, and insight, The Complete Tightwad Gazette includes hundreds of tips and topics, such as:

Travel for tightwads¸ How to transform old blue jeans into potholders and quilts¸ Ten painless ways to save $100 this year¸ Picture-framing for pennies¸ A comparison of painting versus re-siding your house¸ Halloween costumes from scrounged materials¸ Thrifty window treatments¸ Ways to dry up dry-cleaning costs¸ Inexpensive gifts¸ Creative fundraisers for kids¸ Slashing your electric bill¸ Frugal fix-its¸ Cutting the cost of college¸ Moving for less¸ Saving on groceries¸ Gift-wrapping for tightwads¸ Furniture-fusion fundamentals¸ Cheap breakfast cereals¸ Avoiding credit card debt¸ Using items you were about to throw away (milk jugs, plastic meat trays, and more!)¸ Recipes galore, from penny-pinching pizza to toaster pastries¸ And much much more . . .

Though tightwad seems like a derogatory term, author Amy Dacyczyn wants to assure you that it’s okay to be a penny-pincher. This self-styled “Frugal Zealot” wrote and published The Tightwad Gazette for over six years to spread the frugal gospel. Each issue contained tips from her personal experience and from her many readers. The wealth of information contained in all these issues has been compiled into one volume for the first time. You’ll find literally thousands of ideas for saving money, from the simple or practical to the difficult or bizarre. On the simple, practical side, Dacyczyn advises would-be tightwads to keep track of price trends at several stores in a “price book” and to buy in bulk when prices are low. Other, stranger offerings include tips for turning margarine-tub lids into playing-card holders, old credit cards into guitar picks, and six-pack rings into a hammock or volleyball net. More helpful are inexpensive recipes for making homemade versions of pricey, well-known products and ingenious ways to fix broken or damaged items. The book’s disorganization encourages browsing, but the detailed index will point you to the exact page for specific items. Dacyczyn’s occasional “thriftier than thou” tone is balanced by the friendly support for frugality that infuses every page. She even reminds her readers that it’s okay to “sweat the small stuff”–because this small stuff is the essence of frugality. –C.B. Delaney

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After you’ve chosen your desired building material, you must decide how large your bed will be. Things to keep in mind include how much time will you have to take care of it, are you going to can it or share with friends, and how many varieties you want in your garden. If you are low on gardening time or new to vegetable gardening, start with a small bed.

After you’ve decided the size of your vegetable garden, you have to decide where to place it. Plants need up to eight or nine hours of sunlight everyday, so a Northern or Southern exposure is best. Another key element in plant growth is water. Since it doesn’t rain everyday, you will have to find a way to get your vegetable garden water. Unless you love carrying buckets of water around, it is best to build your garden within reach of a water hose.

Once you have your materials, size, and location down, all that’s left is soil and plants. Soil is extremely important. You must make sure that the soil you use to fill your raised bed is good top soil. Getting plant food and mixing it in will go a long way towards having a productive garden too. As far as plants go, do a plot plan before you plant. Decide what plants will go where based on the directions on the back of the packaging. Doing a plot plan with this information will make sure that you maximize your vegetable garden’s potential and minimize headaches during the process.

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As fascinating as a real visit to the world’s famous museums and architectural sites, GARDNER’S ART THROUGH THE AGES: A GLOBAL HISTORY gives you a comprehensive, beautifully illustrated tour of the world’s great artistic traditions–plus all the study tools you need to excel in your art history course! Easy to read and understand, this 13th Edition of the most widely read history of art book in the English language is the only textbook that includes a unique “scale” feature (accompanying the book’s photographs of paintings and other artworks) that will help you better visualize the actual size of the artworks shown in the book. You’ll also find materials that will help you master the key topics quickly and help you study for your exams–for example, “The Big Picture” overviews at the end of every chapter, a special global timeline, and ArtStudy Online (a free interactive study guide that includes flash cards of images and quizzes).

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