I’m hoping stuff like the radishes can get through though, beans are going gang busters with it though, seems to have helped the peas as well. Generally everything since the tops been kept moist!

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[–] evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

In addition to retaining moisture and preventing growth of weeds, it also greatly increases the albedo of the soil. It's a fairly underrated benefit, I think. Nice, dark soil can really soak up heat on those hot summer days. If you need your soil to warm up, like in early spring, you can keep the straw off. It also helps with erosion during rain. If you've ever grown a low-lying green like spinach, you know how dirty it can get due to soil splashing it up, and straw helps with that, too.

The downsides are that it's weirdly stupidly expensive for the name brand product (gardenstraw) considering that it's a waste product.

Getting regular old straw from a hardware store or local farm can be risky because it can contain a lot of weed seeds, and it can have herbicides that can kill your garden. It's also generally longer pieces than the purpose made stuff, so it's less convenient when you are placing it.