Mulching For The
Garden
Mulching enriches and
protects soil, helping provide a
better growing environment.
In
your garden
Mulching is one
of the simplest and most beneficial practices you can
use in the
garden. Mulch is simply a protective layer of a material that
is spread on top
of the soil. Mulches can either be organic--such as
grass clippings,
straw, bark chips, and similar materials--or inorganic--
such as stones,
brick chips, and plastic. Both organic and inorganic
mulches have
numerous benefits.
Mulch:
• protects the
soil from erosion
• reduces
compaction from the impact of heavy rains
• conserves
moisture, reducing the need for frequent watering
• maintains a
more even soil temperature
• prevents weed
growth
• keeps fruits
and vegetables clean
• keeps feet
clean, allowing access to garden even when damp
• provides a
"finished" look to the garden
Organic mulches
also improve the condition of the soil. As these
mulches slowly
decompose, they provide organic matter which
helps
keep the soil loose.
This improves root growth, increases the infiltration
of water, and
also improves the water-holding capacity of the soil.
Organic matter is
a source of plant nutrients and provides an ideal
environment for
earthworms and other beneficial soil organisms.
While inorganic
mulches have their place in certain landscapes, they
lack the soil
improving properties of organic mulches. Inorganic mulches,
because of their
permanence, may be difficult to remove if you decide
to change your
garden plans at a later date. Therefore, this tip sheet is
limited to the
use of organic mulches.
Mulch
materials
You can find
mulch materials in your own yard! Lawn clippings make
excellent mulch.
While not particularly attractive for a flower bed, they
work wonderfully
in the vegetable garden.The fine texture allows them
to be spread
easily even around small plants. However, grass clippings
are becoming
scarce because of the increased popularity of mulching lawnmowers that provide
many of the same benefits of mulching to lawns. Newspaper, as a mulch,works
especially well to control weeds. Leaves
are another
readily available material to use as mulch. Leaf mold, or the decomposed
remains of leaves, gives the forest floor its absorbent spongy structure.
Compost makes a wonderful mulch if you have a large supply. Compost not only
improves the soil structure but provides an excellent
source of plant
nutrients. Bark chips and composted bark mulch are available
at garden
centers. These make a neat finish to the garden bed and will eventually improve
the condition of the soil. These may last for one to three years or more
depending on the size of the chips or how well composed the
bark mulch is.
Smaller chips tend to be easier to spread, especially
around small
plants. Depending on where you live, numerous other
materials make
excellent mulches. Hay and straw work well in the vegetable
garden, although
they may harbor weed seeds. Seaweed mulch, ground
corn cobs, and
pine needles can also be used. Pine needles tend to increase
the acidity of
the soil so they work best around acid-loving plants such as
blueberries.
When
to apply mulch
Time of
application depends on what you hope to achieve by mulching.
Mulches, by
providing an insulating barrier between the soil and the air, moderate the soil
temperature. This means that a mulched soil in the
summer will be
cooler than an adjacent soil that is not mulched; while in the winter,
the mulched soil
may not freeze as deeply. However, since mulch acts as
an insulating
layer, mulched soils tend to warm up more slowly in the spring
and cool down
more slowly in the fall than soil that is not mulched. If you are using mulches in your
vegetable garden , it is best to apply them after the soil has
warmed up in the
spring. Cool,wet soils tend to slow seed germination
and increase the
decay of seeds and seedlings. If adding additional layers
of mulch to
existing perennial beds,wait until the soil has warmed completely.
Mulches used to
help moderate winter temperatures can be applied late
in the fall after
the ground has frozen but before the coldest temperatures
arrive. Applying
mulches before the ground has frozen may attract rodents looking for a warm
over-wintering site. Delayed applications of mulch should prevent this problem
as, hopefully, the creatures would already have found
some other place
to nest! Mulches used to protect plants over winter should
be loose material
such as straw, hay, or pine boughs that will help insulate
the plants
without compacting under the weight of snow and ice. One of the benefits from
winter applications of mulch is the reduction in the freezing
and thawing of
the soil in the late winter and early spring. These repeated
cycles of
freezing at night and then thawing in the warmth of the sun
cause many small
or shallow rooted plants to be heaved out of the soil.
This leaves their
root systems exposed and results in injury or death.
Mulching helps
prevent rapid fluctuations in soil temperature and reduces
the chances of
heaving.
Applying
mulch
1. Begin by
asking yourself the following questions.
What do I hope to
achieve by mulching?
Weed control?
Moisture
retention?
Soil improvement?
Beautification?
How large is the
area to be mulched?
How much mulch
will I need to cover the area?
Mulch is measured
in cubic feet. As an example, if you have an area
10 feet by 10
feet and you wish to apply 3 inches of mulch, you would
need 25 cubic
feet. (10' x 10' x .25' = 25 cu. ft.)
2. Determine what
mulch material to use and purchase or accumulate
what you need.
Mulch can often
be purchased bagged or bulk from garden centers.
Bulk may be
cheaper if you need large volumes and have a way to haul it. Bagged mulch is
often easier to handle, especially for smaller projects.
Most bagged mulch
comes in 3-cubic feet bags.
Compost--
Leaves--
Collect leaves in
the fall.
Chop with a
lawnmower or shredder. Whole leaves tend to compact if
wet or blow away if dry. Chopping will reduce the
volume and facilitate composting.
Compost leaves
over winter. Some studies have indicated that freshly
chopped leaves
may inhibit the growth of certain crops. Therefore, it may
be advisable to
compost the leaves over winter before spreading them.
Grass clippings–
Spread them
immediately to avoid heating and rotting.
Newspaper–
Save your own
newspapers.
Notes
Smaller chips are
easier to spread, especially around small plants.
When spreading mulch around trees, keep the mulch
an inch or two
away from the trunk. A couple inches of mulch is
adequate. There is
no need to apply
the mulch 6 or 8 inches high, as often is seen. Similar
to bark mulch. If using fresh wood chips that
are mixed with a lot of
leaves,
composting may be beneficial. Best to chop and compost before spreading. If using dry leaves, apply about six inches
deep. Thicker layers
tend to compact and rot, becoming quite slimy and
smelly. Add additional
layers as
clippings decompose. Do not use clippings from lawns treated
with herbicides.
Apply sheets of newspaper and cover lightly with grass
clippings or
other mulch material to anchor. If other mulch materials are
not available
cover edges of paper with soil.
Applying on a
windy day can be a problem. Use only
newspaper text
pages (black
ink); color dyes may be harmful to soil,
micro flora and fauna
if composted and
used.
Use 3 or 4 sheets
together, anchored with grass clippings or other mulch material to prevent
blowing away.
The amount of
mulch to apply will be determined by the mulch material
you are using.
General
Guidelines:
Do not apply
mulch directly in contact with plants. Leave an inch or so of
space next to
plants to help prevent diseases flourishing from excessive humidity.
Remove weeds
before spreading mulch. Bark mulch and wood chips
are sometimes
used with landscape fabric or plastic. The fabric or plastic
is laid on top of
the soil and then covered with a layer of bark chips. A
caution to this
practice: while the plastic or fabric may initially provide
additional
protection against weeds, as the mulch breaks down,weeds
will start to
grow in the mulch itself. The barrier between the soil and the
mulch also
prevents any improvement in the soil condition and makes
planting
additional plants more difficult.
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