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Mulch is as important an element in the garden as plants. Many gardeners think that once they have planted their gardens, they are done. But that's not so! The final touch is mulch.
The main reason for mulch is to retain moisture in the soil. A three inch layer of mulch will reduce evaporation and lessen your watering time. The soil will not experience extremes of wet and dry, either, stressing the plants. Consistent moisture fosters healthy plant growth.
Another benefit of mulch is weed reduction. Weed seedlings will smother before they are tall enough to peek through the mulch. Weeds use up water and nutrients intended for your plants. A weed free garden is lush with the proper plants. If weeds are allowed to grow, they will choke out what you have spent so much time and energy designing and planting!
Soil that is exposed to the elements gets a hard surface that does not allow water and air to penetrate to the roots. Instead, rain runs right off this hardpan, and the plants suffer. Bare soil also gets very hot in the sun, too, stressing the plants further. A layer of mulch keeps the soil friable and allows water and air to reach it.
Another reason for mulch is esthetics. Mulch gives your flower and vegetable beds a finished look, a feeling of continuity. Although the contents of your beds may be very different, mulch can tie them all together to relate them in a design sense. It will also prevent mud from splashing up onto the leaves in the rain.
Mulch can be organic or inorganic. The organic group is dead plant material - bark, shredded leaves, straw, grass clippings, sawdust and seaweed. Inorganic mulches are black plastic, stones and landscape fabrics.
The benefit of an organic mulch is that it decomposes and adds nutrients to the soil over time. Because of this, you need to replenish some mulch each year. Large, chunky organic mulches, like bark chips, however, will take longer to break down. In the process, it will remove nitrogen from the soil and the plants. To prevent this, put a layer of nitrogen-rich compost or composted manure under the mulch.
One of the best mulches by itself is compost. You can buy it bagged or in bulk from a garden center, but it is easy to make your own. Make a ring of chicken wire about three feet in diameter, and layer organic matter in it. Use kitchen scraps (no meat or dairy), grass clippings, shredded leaves, and whatever comes out of your garden as you are cleaning it throughout the year. Water it and turn it with a pitchfork regularly, and soon you will have beautiful, black, organic, nutrient-rich compost to use as mulch!
There are other considerations in choosing mulch. You may have access to a lot of straw, but you have to decide if you want that look in the flower beds around your house. On the other hand, if you have bark chips on your foundation plantings, you may not want them in the vegetable garden. You need to turn that soil each year, and you would have to rake the chips away first. With experience, you will decide what suits your personal needs.
If you choose straw as mulch, be sure it is weed-free straw and not hay. Yes, there is a difference! When purchasing anything, be sure to state that it is for mulch, and the garden center will provide you with a weed-free item. No point in adding weeds when you are trying to eliminate them!
A three inch layer of mulch is a minimum, but more is better. Prepare your beds first, thoroughly watering and weeding them. On top of the soil, lay any soaker hoses you will be using for watering. Then cover with mulch. Don't butt the mulch right up to the plant stems. That will cause them to rot. Leave at least a one inch space around each plant. That's all there is to applying mulch.
Inorganic mulch works the same as organic mulch, but it does not add nutrients to the soil. A benefit of black plastic is that it warms the soil early in the season. This is good for vegetables. It will also keep your vegetables clean if they ripen on the ground. A drawback to it is that it is ugly, and if you have it somewhere near the house, you will want to disguise it by covering it with an organic mulch.
To use black plastic, weed and water the area. Lay out your soaker hose or other irrigation system, then lay the plastic over that. Pull it taut and cover the edges with rocks and soil to weigh it down. Poke holes in it where you want your plants, and plant directly in the holes.
Stones should be reserved for very dry landscapes. They make a low maintenance garden, but absorb heat, which can be damaging to certain types of plants. That extra heat is radiated into the area, too, making your entire yard hotter. Stones and gravel are best left to small xeriscaped areas or pathways.
Mulch is important in winter, too. It prevents trees, shrubs and perennials from heaving out of the ground. This is caused by the alternate freezing and thawing of the ground. Mulching will keep the ground frozen. Snow is the original mulch, but many locations don't get as much as in past years. We need to replace that natural groundcover with our own.
After the ground is frozen, add mulch around plantings, especially new ones. Again, leave at least a one inch space around the stems to prevent rot. The more mulch you can add, the more likely your plants will survive the winter.
Mulch the vegetable garden and annual beds, too, after you have cleaned them up in the fall. By covering the soil, you will protect it from the elements. That will keep the soil friable, and it will be easier to work come spring. Nutrients will leach out, either, from rains and melting snow.
Mulching will free up your time to enjoy your garden, instead of constantly tending it! Happy gardening!
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