Burpee Garden Products Silver Mulch

My squash, pumpkin and cucumber seedlings were always destroyed before producing fruit due to the squash vine borer, squash bug and cucumber beetle. I used pesticides and aluminum foil at the base of the plant to no avail then I found this product. It looks truly obnoxious in the garden until the foliage starts to cover it but it WORKS!! I had a bumper crop this year and am still enjoying squash that I stored from the fall harvest. I still did see some squash bugs and beetles but they were greatly reduced in number. I am buying this again for the coming year and would highly recommend it if you have the same bug struggles that I did!

I am in zone 8. It gets HOT here, usually early on. I think this would be great further north. What I have found is that while moisture retention is moderate, and pests are fewer, the heat reflection off of the silver is terrible. If we are having a typically hot day, I can't stay near to water for long. It is just too hot. Will I buy again? Honestly I am not certain. I would recommend for 6 and lower.

Pros Warmer soil temperature Faster seed germination Fewer pests (except gnats - see below) MUCH greater moisture retention. (Like crazy good) No weeds Cons Pain to use - hard to keep flush with soil while planting seeds especially and if holes don't live up exactly with seeds then the foil will shade them before you realize they've popped up. It ain't gonna look like the pic. Warm, moist soil caused fungus gnat explosion It's too soon to say how well it will aid photosynthesis or if it will have a lasting effect on pests. If you are doing SFG like me you will have to cut it into squares rather than rows.

I've used this for the past three years and my squash plants grow quickly and look great. However, the claim it fends off squash vine borers has been totally false for me. I use the traps, aluminum foil, and constant monitoring to keep them away. It does seem to decrease the number of squash bugs at the start of the season, but by summer's end I am not sure it helps that much.