Amanda Montgomery

I'm having some issues with slugs as well but really my big problem (other than voles) are ANTS. My goodness, so many ants. I've sheet mulched other areas of my yard on a smaller scale and not noticed an issue but now it's a real problem.

Something else I've been trying to figure out but haven't seen is an issue of soil compaction. I started with cardboard, then a layer of straw, leaves, then compost. My plants have been yellowing and have stopped growing. I aerated and the compost layer was solid. There are lots of worms and once you dig a little deeper things look pretty nice. We've had a ton of rain here in Central VA so I'm sure that has something to do with it but it's really frustrating!

Hi Everyone,

I sheet mulched my backyard in the fall and my front yard about 3 months ago. I did it very simply; a layer of cardboard, a layer of straw, a layer of leaves, and a top layer of compost. This has always worked for me in the past and I have 3 other places in my yard that were done in this way in previous years. I live in Central VA and the weather has been wet to say the least and cooler than normal. I'm also in Zone 7. I transplanted basils in the front yard late April as well as direct seeded just in case. Because of tons of rain and no sun, there hasn't been much growth (or no growth) but I am also suspecting something is up with my soil. My basil leaves are a yellow tint instead of green. It's not just the basils, either. My radishes, sunflowers, strawflowers, and other plants are exhibiting the same thing in different beds. I'm growing for market and kind of stressing that I seriously messed up when sheet mulching. Like lots of sheet mulching situations, I am dealing with pressure from ants and slugs so I've been treating with diatomaceous earth when it's dry enough.

Does anyone have any guidance they can offer? I'm hoping I can turn this around and have happy plants but I'm sort of scratching my head. Thank you!

Amanda