Fungus growth on mulch

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mercuryhime Harrison, NY(Zone 6b) May 21, 2014

Hi all,

This is my first year growing tomatoes on my own terms. I had wanted to mulch my tomato plants with woodchips or straw, but was told that the hot humid summers in my area (Westchester, NY) promotes fungus growth on organic mulch and will harm my tomatoes. This advice comes from someone who has been growing tomatoes in the area for decades, but everywhere I look online, everyone is always advocating mulch to insulate soil, preserve moisture, prevent soil splashing up on leaves, etc.

My husband is thinking of using black plastic mulch, but I'm afraid that would make the soil too hot and kill off any beneficial organisms.

What are your thoughts?

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cristina Temuco, Chile(Zone 9b) May 21, 2014

I do always mulch my tomatoes, I feel they grow better and produce more. Have a look at this site:

http://www.tomatodirt.com/mulch.html

Mulchin is the way to go.

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stephanietx Fort Worth, TX(Zone 8a) May 25, 2014

I also mulch my tomatoes and we have humid summers. I use straw, grass clippings, or leaves from my trees. Most of the time I run the mulching mower over the leaves to get them more finely chopped, but unchopped works well, too.

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mercuryhime Harrison, NY(Zone 6b) May 25, 2014

Thanks for the input guys!

Stephanie, no fungus problems?

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stephanietx Fort Worth, TX(Zone 8a) May 25, 2014

Nope, but it's important to use a moisture meter and only water your plants every couple of days.

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kittriana Magnolia, TX(Zone 9a) Jun 01, 2014

If you use a hydromulch- there is a white fungus that is harmless that comes from the decomp of the hydromulch. Just saying

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mercuryhime Harrison, NY(Zone 6b) Jun 01, 2014

What's hydromulch?

I googled it and it seems to be something to do with broadcasting seeds of plants that prevent erosion. That doesn't seem to apply to tomatoes. Although I was thinking that the fungus that eats rotting wood (as I was hoping to mulch with wood chips) wouldn't be the same ones that eat live tomato plants.

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kittriana Magnolia, TX(Zone 9a) Jun 02, 2014

We have pine bark in colors, shredded cypress etc that spreads on top of the beds that we call hydromulch. As it breaks down tthere is a harmless white mold and occasional mushrooms that are part of the decomp of the toppings. It isnt a fungus that eats tomatoes chuckl,

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kittriana Magnolia, TX(Zone 9a) Jun 02, 2014

Tomatoes like red colors- go with red plastic - but in all honesty I have seen tomatoes grow and produce just out in our whitrock areas.

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mercuryhime Harrison, NY(Zone 6b) Jun 02, 2014

Thanks for the input!

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kittriana Magnolia, TX(Zone 9a) Jun 02, 2014

My guess is they have all the calcium they love- but these are volunteers Mother Nature grows in the heat and humidity of Houston, Tx area.

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