Do you have any suggestions to organically kill crabgrass? 

     I have a couple of suggestions. First, you could set the blade on your lawnmower a notch or two higher. Taller grass will cast shade on the ground below; your grass will crowd out crabgrass seedlings and reduce the overall prescence in your lawn. My other suggestion is less attractive. You simply hand pick the crabgrass from your lawn. Do not discard this idea immediately. There are plenty of gizmos and tools on the market that make weed picking easier - many even make it unnecessary to bend over. Unfortunately, these are the only methods that I know of to kill crabgrass. It is much easier to counteract crabgrass before it starts, with a preemergence crabgrass control. These are available at most gardening supply stores, and some are acceptable as organic. Don't give up...there is always an organic solution. And make sure to check out Organic Lawn Care For the Cheap and Lazy, it is an excellent source of lawn care information.

  Can you tell me if using a sunlight reducing mulch will affect the growth of bulbs which come up each year? 

     Any mulch, regardless of whether it is sunlight-reducing or not, will help perennial bulbs to return each year. The mulch protects the bulbs from the frost of the winter months. To insure the annual return of your bulbs, there are a few things that you should do. Deadhead the flowers - cut off the bulb flower as soon as it begins to fade. Leave the foliage alone - allow the foliage to mature and die off naturally...the plant stores food for the winter during this process. Fertilize - Rake a bulb fertilizer into the topsoil above your plants during the spring. If you follow these tips, your bulbs should return for several years.

  We just cut down two black walnut trees and were planning on grinding the stumps and mulching all the branches. I have heard that walnut trees are very toxic and plants have a hard time growing around them. If I was to use the saw dust and wood chips as mulch would there be a problem. 

     The black walnut tree produces a toxin called juglone. This toxin is poisonous to a large number of plants, including tomato, potato, blackberry, blueberry, azalea, mountain laurel, rhododendron, red pine and apple. These plants may be injured or killed within one to two months of growth inside the root zone of the black walnut tree. The toxic zone for a mature tree occurs in a 50 to 60 foot radius from the trunk, but can be up to 80 feet. The area affected extends outward each year as a tree enlarges. Young trees two to eight feet high can have a root diameter twice the height of the top of the tree, with susceptible plants dead within the root zone and dying at the margins. If you plan on planting any of the aforementioned plant varieties or any of their relatives, DO NOT plant them near a black walnut or use mulch from a black walnut. That's right - even composted mulch and sawdust retain the toxic juglone. Juglone is present in the walnut's buds, nut hulls, roots, leaves and stems, so ALL of these materials are off limits for mulch and compost. Many trees, vines, shrubs, groundcovers, annuals and perennials can tolerate the juglone; however, if you want to be safe, find some other location for your garden and source for your mulch.

  I work with a lot of different types of wood (for example: purple heart, Zebra, poplar, bloodwood, CEDAR, etc.) Can I use these wood shavings as mulching material? I would use it in the strawberry patch, flower and vegetable garden. 

     Wood shavings (extremely thin slices of wood) are effective as a mulch but biodegrade faster than wood chips. Wood chips (thicker wood pieces) would be ideal for mulching trees, bushes, and other woody plants. Wood shavings would work well with vegetables, flowers, and other herbaceous plants. Feel free to use the woodchips from trees or wood shavings/sawdust from your latest carpentry project as mulch. They will provide excellent weed control, conserve water, and offer a layer of defense against pests. There are a few precautions, however. DO NOT USE BLACK WALNUT WOOD CHIPS OR WOOD SHAVINGS. The black walnut tree contains a poison called juglone, which is toxic for blueberries, tomatoes, and many other plants. Do not use any wood shavings that have been coated with a chemical (i.e. stain, finish, etc.) Only use woodchips that are insect-free; You don't want to introduce unwanted pests to your garden.
     At the end of the growing season, wood shavings will be completely decomposed, while wood chips will not. Turn the decomposed shavings over with your garden soil. Note: it may take several years for wood chips to decompose. For more mulching information, visit my mulching article.

  I want to use leaves to mulch for the winter. Some are sycamore which are very large. Can I just run the mower over them to break them down or do I need to use a different kind of mulch? 

     A leaf mulch would be a good idea to protect your plants during the winter. Don't worry about the size of your leaves - after a run through the lawn mower they should be chopped up sufficiently. I assume that you have a bagging lawn mower. After you have mowed up all the leaves, you should pile up the chopped up leaf pieces in your backyard. The pile should be exposed to sunlight. Turn the pile every 2-3 days, and add water if it starts to dry out. If you stay on top of the turning (which aerates the pile), it should be ready to be used as mulch in about three weeks. The leaves will have taken on a darker color, and they should not look like leaves any more. The pile also should have reduced in size. For more information, visit my article on mulch.

  My friend told me I could use cardboard as an organic mulch and alternative to plastic. I saw another person who had done it and I felt it was very unattractive. It seems like a good idea, but what can I put over the cardboard? Another layer of dirt? Or will weeds grow on top of that? 

     Cardboard would probably be an excellent organic mulch. Use a low quality cardboard - that way it will not take too long to decompose and will allow air and water to pass through. To cover up the cardboard you should use woodchips or a leaf mulch. These can be purchased at your local gardening center - choose the one that looks the nicest. The layer of mulch on top of the cardboard should not be thicker than 1 inch. Do not cover the cardboard with another layer of soil - weeds would most definitely grow on top of that. Remember: use only one layer of low-grade cardboard to cover your soil.

  How do you get rid of poison oak organically? I have a very large area of it and need to get rid of it so that I can plant fruit trees there. 

     It is somewhat difficult to get rid of poison oak organically. I have a few recommendations, however. You could cover the poison oak with an opaque tarp. By shutting out sunlight, you prevent photosynthesis...in two to four weeks, the plants should be dead. The other option is less attractive. You could cover your entire body (so that no skin is exposed) and remove the poison oak by had - including the roots. You may also want to try rototilling the plot of land where the poison oak is...you will be planting there anyway, why not take out the poison oak and prepare the soil at one time.

  I have been pulling baby tears (weed) out continually, but I thought there was a method of putting excess iron on it to kill it without killing anything else. I can't find any info and was hoping you could help. It is soooo invasive! 

     Please, please, please do NOT put excess iron on those baby tears. Adding elements like iron to the soil can upset your pH and harm organisms in the soil. It is highly unlikely that excess iron would kill the plants; and if it did, other plants would also be unable to grow in the soil. I have a much better suggestion for weed control. Get down on your hands and knees and rip out all the weeds. Or, if you don't feel like it, pay the boy next door to do it. Regardless, hand picking is the best way to control those weeds. Make sure you remove all the weed roots from the soil. Your attack does not end there. Find a plant (preferably a groundcover, i.e., pachysandra) that you like and put it in the space where the weeds were. Then mulch around the plants with a heavy, woodchip mulch. If you're not up to planting, simply cover the weeded ground with a thick (3 inch) layer of woodchip mulch. It is essential that you mulch or plant quickly. Also, remove any new Babies tears that pop up. The key to organic weed control is thorough and persistent action. Keep that in mind.

  I am looking for some information, cost, colors and who to contact for RUBBER IMPACT TECHNOLOGY MULCH. It is something about old rubber tires used for mulch in the yard. 

     I have not heard of rubber impact technology mulch for use in beds and gardens. As an organic gardener, I do not recommend the use of rubber as mulch. Though rubber is processed from trees, the key word is "processed." Various chemicals are added, modifications are made. The product ceases to be considered "organic." Rubber would take an extremely long time to decompose (many years), and so, it is not practical in an organic garden. I recommend the use of a woodchip or leave mulch (the woodchip mulch will last for a fairly long time). These mulches will decompose and enrich your soil, and are more environmentally sound. Additionally, these natural mulches are cheaper. For more information about mulching, see my article on mulch.
     Best of luck...trust me, a natural mulch is far better than any rubber mulch.

  My husband produces a great deal of saw dust from partial board and wants to know if we can use this as a mulch in our vegetable garden and around our shrubs? Does the glue in the board cause any problems if its ground finely?  

     Do not use the sawdust from the partial board in your garden and beds. The glue is a problem...I, as an organic gardener, would have to frown on introducing glue (or any other non-natural element) to the garden. Do not despair, however. There are many mulch alternatives. You may use the sawdust from any other piece of lumber (as long as it is not treated with chemicals, finished, or glued). I'm not sure how attractive this sawdust will look...you may only want to use it in your vegetable garden and not in your beds. Make sure you apply the sawdust in thick layers...if there is only a thin layer, weeds will be able to poke through. For more information, check out my article on mulch.

  I have put down mulch several times in my garden but I continue to have a weed problem. Do you have any suggestions? 

     First thing that you want to do: lay down a thicker layer of mulch. Buy a lot of mulch, much more than you think you will need. Spread all the mulch over your beds...the more you lay down, the less weeds will poke through. Four inches of mulch will ensure no weeds for the rest of the year. You also might want to try a different type of mulch. For example, leaf mulches will break down faster and weeds will push through it in a shorter amount of time. Woodchip mulches or bark mulches will last for a much longer time.

  We bought some red oak mulch from a commercial supplier. Is this the best type for our vegetable garden? 

     Since you have already bought the red oak mulch, I would recommend using it, regardless of whether or not it is the "right" type. The type of mulch that should be used depends on the type of bed/garden that needs to be covered. Woodchip and bark mulches are ideal for trees, shrubs, and other woody plants. Leaf mulches are good for mulching vegetables, flowers, and other herbaceous (soft stemmed) plants. Regardless of these recommendations, the above suggestions are not an iron law of mulching. You may use your red oak mulch on the vegetable and flower bed without doing any harm. Is your red oak mulch in woodchip form or is it mostly decomposed? If it is mostly decomposed then it would be very appropriate for use in a flower/veggie garden. Regardless - USE THE MULCH in your vegetable garden...it is extremely important to have your vegetables mulched.