Sugar Cane Mulch

by Rod Blair
(Main Ridge, Victoria, Australia)

Here in Australia, we have easy access to bales of chopped sugar cane leaves and stems, which are left over after the sugar refining process.
This makes (in my humble opinion) the best mulch by far as it is cheap, easy to apply, long lasting, allows water to penetrate easily yet retains soil moisture brilliantly, and does not contain seeds. Unlike pea, wheat or barley straw, sugar cane mulch does not produce another "crop" among the tomato plants as no seeds sprout.