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Archive for the ‘Mulch’ Category

Using mulch for new or existing plantings is a good habit to get in to. Mulch will help protect new plants from harsh cold or heat, and this protects the roots from damage while the plants are still young and becoming established. Mulch also helps protect your garden plantings from drying out too quickly, plus it can help prevent weed growth too.

There are many different types of mulch that can be used in your gardens. Some types of mulch will naturally degrade and add vital nutrients back into the soil, while others are designed to continue protecting your plants for years without change.

Natural and Organic mulch is often a byproduct of your standard gardening activities. When you cut the grass of your lawn for instance, you can use those grass clippings around plants, flowers, bushes and trees. You can also just leave them where they fall on the lawn, and they’ll feed the grass as they degrade and decompose.

Other natural and organic mulch materials which are popular include leaves, wood chips, and tree bark. If you have trees in your yard and garden which drop leaves each year, simply rake them into piles around the base of your plants and bushes instead of throwing them away. You can buy wood chips and bark if need be, but if you live in an area which has natural woodlands or many trees, you may be able to collect it yourself instead. Keep your eyes peeled around your home too, for workers who may be cutting down dead trees, and when you find them ask if you can haul away some or all of the debris. You might also check with local firewood suppliers too, because they may allow you to take their wood chips and scrap bark as well.

Using organic mulch materials takes a little more time and effort for maintenance though, because these products naturally decompose over time. This is a wonderful way to feed your flowers, bushes and trees of course, but it also means that you must put new mulch in place regularly. When using natural mulch materials, it’s best to make sure you pile it several inches thick around the plants you want to protect, because the thicker it is the more it’s able to insulate against harsh weather, and the better it’s able to prevent weeds from cropping up.

Longer term mulch materials are popular for many people, because they require little to no maintenance. You put them in place and they stay looking great and protecting your plants for years to come.

One type for instance, is made with recycled tires. This material comes in circular, or ring shapes primarily to use for under trees and bushes. It covers the ground around the trees and bushes completely, so no sunlight is able to promote weed growth in the area. It also does a wonderful job of locking in moisture so you’re able to water less often.

If you want to use natural mulch materials but still get the long lasting benefits of non-organic mulch, try using rocks and pebbles instead. Placing small rocks and pebbles around the base of your trees, bushes, or flower beds will serve the same purpose of man made mulch materials: The rocks will help your garden soil retain moisture, and if the ground is covered well enough it will prevent excessive weed growth too. And since rocks take such a long time to be broken down by the weather, they’ll stay looking good for as long as you have them in place.

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Simply put, mulch is a layer of organic or synthetic material which is laid on top of your garden soil. This top layer is designed to help the soil hold moisture longer, prevent soil from eroding, prevent the soil from fluctuating in temperature too drastically, and prevent weeds from easily being able to grow around your plants.

Mulch is usually light enough to allow plenty of water and air to get through it to the roots of your plants, but it’s also dense enough to prevent weeds from being able to grow easily. Organic mulch deteriorates over time too, and this has an additional effect of adding nutrients, minerals, and vitamins to the soil around your plants too.

Organic mulch usually comes from some type of plant material such as leaves, grass clippings, wood bark, or straw. Mineral type mulches can be used too though, and these usually come from some type of stone, gravel, or other small rocks. There are also plenty of synthetic mulches available too, and these can be made from a variety of materials such as plastic or rubber. Many synthetic mulches are made from recycled materials, and they can last for quite a long time.

Organic and mineral type mulches will often help keep the soil beneath them cooler, and synthetic mulches tend to help the soil warm up. Organic mulch will of course degrade and decompose over time, so it has to be added to regularly. Mineral mulches can last several lifetimes, and some types of synthetic mulches can too.

Any type of natural material which decomposes on its own can be used as a mulch material. Some of the most popular include grass clippings, hay, tree leaves, wood chips, and straw. It helps to create thick layers of mulch when you’re using organic materials, because the thicker layers help protect your plants from weeds and weather better. Thicker layers will also pack down a bit better, and not be lost or scattered with any little breeze that comes along.

One of the best reasons to use mulch around your plants is for weather protection. If you put a nice deep layer of mulch around the base of tender plants before winter sets in for instance, that mulch will often allow the roots to stay alive even when it gets quite cold outside. And when the roots of your plants can survive through the winter, you’ll be able to enjoy the plant when it starts budding naturally the following spring.

The other major advantage to mulching is, when done correctly, you’ll find yourself fighting weeds much less often in your garden.

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