A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 to mulch or not to mulch....veggies?

Hello everyone!

I just planted some tomoatoes and peppers and was wondering if I should mulch them. 3 of the tomatoes are in a raised bed, but the rest (2 peppers and a cherry tomato) are in the ground. Drainage has always been an issue in my swampy flat near-the-beach area, so I raised the soil around them slightly to create mini-raised beds.

Will they stay too wet with mulch?? Should I mulch the raised bed tomoatoes? In general, is mulching good for veggies?

Thanks!

You might wait a bit to mulch, so the ground can continue to warm.
If the ground stays wet, you may have problems, and mulching could make things worse, but otherwise, mulch helps retain even moisture and helps keep weeds down.

Tomatoes will always benefit from mulching. Keeps the soil-borne disease off the foliage. Just wait until the ground warms up a bit.