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| First time poster here. I wonder if anybody has used this product from Gurneys and can comment on it. I am reluctant to order it because I am not sure about the quality of the product. I've used black plastic in the past and was happy with the yield and lack of weeds. Did not like the bugs hiding underneath the plastic though. Thanks in advance. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by carolyn137 z4/5 NY (My Page) on Sat, May 4, 13 at 11:17
| I consider the red plastic mulch as being useless, not that I'm shy about saying that. I was present at the NE vegetable conference when Clemson U first presented info about it and handed out literature. At that time they said it would increase production by about 20%, but that turned out not be true as the years went by. Conservatively, maybe 5-10 % increase. Take a plant that normally might give 20 fruits, taking the 10%, that means 2 more fruits, and then compare that to the cost of that red plastic, which is not cheap. There are various colored plastic mulches now available in blue, green, etc., all said to reflect back certain wave lengths to the plants. Finally, to have red mulch do anything, there has to be at least two feet on either side of a mature plant in order for wave length reflection, which limits it to commercial growers who usually plant determinate varieties. Carolyn |
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| Agree. The red mulch has come up for discussion here several times in the past and with few exceptions most found it to be not worth the price (to put it nicely :-). Dave |
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| Ditto Dave and Carolyn I bought some years ago. I had 2 rows of tomatoes one with the red plastic and one with straw, no difference in production. |
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| But don't take that as a don't use mulch suggestion. Mulches control weeds, hold moisture in soils, and influence soil temps. I prefer an organic mulch, but I have used plastic and cloth mulches before. For the most part, any mulch will increase plant yield and health, whether that be a red plastic or other mulch. Kevin |
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| See, now this is why I love this forum! I heard about red mulch years ago and considered buying it, but then the reality of its "effectiveness" was exposed, and I went with homegrown organic mulches instead. My tomatoes produce just fine, and who knows how much money I've saved :). Thank you Dr. Carolyn! |
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