Permaculturebella wrote:
So you need to try to alter the feedback mechanisms that retain the characteristics of the grassland ie the make up of the soil...not grass based materials (such as hay) which are part of the normal grass based cycle, perpetuating the grass based eco system.
We argue that plastic sheet mulch is the quickest, most effective way to achieve rapid establishment.
I frequently use woven black landscape fabric in a similar manner. I have been moving some of the same sheets around for 5 years. It does not perforate, but does leak some light. A similar use is profiled in Edible Forest Gardens.
If up front costs were not so high I would agree, but prefer arborist chips for most applications. (see topic:
HYPOTHESIS - optimal approach for zone 2 food forest establishment in PNW. I have been intrigued by some folk's devotion to subtle
polyculture manipulation, or shallow locally harvested mulch. (see
no till hay method)
I have long felt that grassland mulch vs. leaf mulch produces very different effects and suppresses different species in different ways that would be good to understand.
I think correctly identifying and understanding the species you are smothering is the critical piece.
I have seen some plants (evergreens in particular) suffer under cardboard mulch in some settings with effects that look like oxygen starvation. Not uniform, but specific to application, setting, and species.
