I know many outdoor growers engage in the practice of mulching, but theres not a lot of empirical data to allow a grower to determine the usefullness of this practice, so I thought I would share the results of a little experiment I conducted about 3 years ago:

I started with 6 sensi star clones, all taken from the same mother on the same day in the same rooting base and treated the same way in every respect. I did nothing to one, that i didn't do to all. All 6 clones were planted in a 10x12 outdoor area with all plant holes prepared the same. Here were the results between mulched and unmulched plants.

35 day old clone, approximately 8" tall were planted on May 1.

June 1
Mulched clones: 18.5", 17", 16.5"
Unmulched: 14", 13.5", 13"

July 1
Mulched clones: 39", 38", 36.5"
Unmulched: 30,5", 26", 24.5"

August 1
Mulched clones: 49.5", 50", 47
Unmulched: 44", 41", 37"

Sept. 1
Mulched Clones: 56" 55", 49"
Unmulched: 48", 47", 44"

Oct 5 - chop date;

Mulched clones:
60" =11.5 oz
58" - 10 oz
56 = 9.5 oz

Unmulched:
52" = 8.5 oz
50" = 8 oz
47" = 6 oz

Clearly the growth and the yield were impacted by the muclh. The unmulched plants never perfomed or yielded what the mulched clones did.

(31oz, compared to 22.5)

Just food for thought

sb

[bounty29]

The numbers look really good, what did you use for mulch in your tests?

Hey bounty 29,
Never use hardwood mulch, Always use Cypress! Hardwood mulch rots within a few months and creates a mould factory at the base of the plant. Non rotting substance

The mulch was 12" in diameter, 3" thick

[Ganico]

Oh, so you hauled in mulch?

Yep, Its one of those winter activities. I start in the fall, carrying one bag at a time to different grow site. Even the winter weather doesnt stop this activity. Its there when I plant in the spring, ready to go. 1 bag = 3-4 plants. Thats usually all I grow in any given spot.

[Hindu Killer]

Thanks for the insight SB! Its one of the the #1 things to do for me this OD.

Hey HK,
Typically, I had to dodge deer just to get to the store this morning. The damn things are like an old lazy country dog, they won't get out of the road until you blow your horn! Its unfortunate that theyve made it illegial to shoot from the vehicle around here. You can claim anything you hit with your vehicle but roadkill deer is dangerous.

Mulching is one of the activities i undertake that is an absolute must. Its just this simple: you can't ever reach an outdoor plants full potential without mulch. The real difference is in the first 6 weeks after planting. Because of the moisture and temperature consistency created by the mulch, the unmulched plant can never catch up.

[bounty29]

Consistency, that seems to be what does the trick. The mulch insulates it from wet/dry and hot/cold fluctuations a lot more than no mulch, which takes a lot of stress off the plant, which lets it focus on growing. Makes complete sense, I'm surprised it isn't done more. Great info silverback, thanks for sharing!

[hamstring]

Silverback
I agree it helps hold in the moisture and for me, I use the old plant matter found on sight, it aids in security covering the turned earth. I also agree that mulch holds moisture and promotes mold. In fact I remove much of the dead plant matter around the sight once flowering begins.

I never thought of using cypress or cedar mulch, which seems to be more common in my area.

You don’t think the moisture held by the mulch no matter what the type would promote mold because moisture in general during flowering can be a problem?

You bring a lot of good ideas to the OD forum. Much appreciated.

Your'e right on track bounty29. Further, the more adverse the early season conditions, the greater the effect and impact of the mulch. If you have an especially dry or hot spring, the beneficial aspects are increased.

Hey hamstring. thanks for the compliment. I feel as though I learn more than i give but i hope i can help.
I havent noticed any problem with mould using the cypress mulch, cedar too. I suspect it does mould underneath the mulch but ive just never seen it on top and never had a problem. I too remove decaying debree at the b ase of the plant. Mulching is really only an issue for the first part of the season. As soon as the plant shades its own root system, the effect is diminished.

I used to use leaf clutter and stuff. Your'e right about the camo aspect and thats good, but later in the season I pull it back from the base because it rots.