What Are The Pros And Cons Of The Uses Of Straw Mulch On Herb And Vegetable Plants?

Question

I am doing a science fair, experimenting on straw mulch and mushroom mulch and the effects it has on the height of herb plants. I am seeing of mushroom mulch will boost plant growth, and if so, would it be better to use that instead of straw mulch, etc.

Answer 1

As long as you are using wheat straw that you KNOW has been de-seeded, then there isn't much to say about straw. It is a decent mulch that will rot into nutrients, rather quickly. If this is not de-seeded, then this will be a nightmare, as wheat grass takes over the area.

I assume that you mean mushroom compost. Mushroom compost has been colonized and broken down, further, by mushrooms. This is a very good soil amendment. I think that it would make a beneficial mulch, as well. It doesn't have the seed problem that comes with using hay mulches.

If I were to choose between the two, I would choose mushroom compost.

As far as what effect it will have on the height... I don't think that this is the proper parameter to measure a plant's success. This factor can be determined by several things, such as amount of light, how crowded the plants are, and the quality of nutrients that they receive.

Keep in mind, measuring a plant's health by height should be accompanied by girth, as well. That, and it should be noted how many leaves the plant obtains, and how short is the internodal spacing between them. A plant can stretch in response to a lack of light, or being too crowded. Neither of these are "good" and will indicate problems in plant growth.

A healthy plant will be compact, and will be more advanced in growth than an unhealthy plant.