TARO MESSAGE BOARD - info, offers & requests
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| Subject: Raupo or flax as mulch? | |
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Author: pjm Date: 10-04-05 21:01:07 In the Cook Islands palm leaves are often used as a mulch for taro. The taro corms are planted in holes in wet beds of soil surrounded by water. The holes are not filled in with soil, but are covered with the mulch, so that there is a humid airspace around the corm, and the whole bed heats up nicely in the sun. In Japan, black plastic mulch is sometimes used and this also helps heat up the ground around taro. More common is rice straw, which holds in mositure and reflects light back on to the young plants (another way to encourage growth). In New Zealand, dry wheat straw would be equivalent. Maybe dried raupo or flax leaves would also be good if they happen to be abundant near the garden (slower to rot and less acidic than green mown grass?). Late summer might be a good time to harvest mulching materials to dry and store for the following spring. |
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