Profile
Subscribe
I hear about mulching all the time, read about it, more likely. There are various substances that can be used as mulch, and there is a variety of benefits in mulching your garden; the biggest ones for me and most other gardeners would be helping to keep the moisture in the soil and the weeds at bay. Since I live in a hot climate with a mild winter, the other use of mulch, soil temperature in the winter, is less of a concern for me.
You could divide the different types of mulch into two groups - mineral and organic. Although I have never mulched before, one of the rented houses I lived in had a ton of volcanic rock mulch, and it is not my cup of tea, to say the least. It is hard to move, to clean, to plant in and doesn’t look particularly attractive from about half a minute after it has been put down. Gravel and river stones would probably be the same.
Also, non organic mulch does remarkably little for the quality of the soil, as opposed to organic mulches that eventually decompose and enrich the quality of the soil. (It is important to note that many of the organic mulches, wood and bark chips in particular, might rob the soil of some of its nitrogen while decomposing, and some of the plants might need a nitrogen picker-upper).
Choosing the right mulch for you garden is not as straightforward as it seems. Other than the price factor, there is the matter of appearance, how acidic or alkaline your soil is, what plants you have and want to add to your garden, the climate you live in and wind conditions. (No kidding, if I were to lay straw down as mulch were I live, it would blow away before it even hit the ground, since it can get extremely windy here).
Unless ones garden is tiny quite a large amount of mulch would be called for and commercial mulches, such as wood chips and cocoa husks and so on can add up quickly. Since I intend to grow vegetables, I am prepared to settle for a less groomed look if I can cut back on the cost of the mulch or better yet, get it for free.
Pine leaves come to mind as one possibility. All I would have to do is take a few sacks and my family to a pine grove, have a picnic and a competition within the family for who can collect the most pine leaves. One possible draw back of pine leaves would be that they contribute to the acidity of the soil. Some plants do extremely well in a more acidic environment, but since I am not sure how acidic my soil is to begin with, I am not sure it’s a problem for me. I guess only time will tell.
I have also thought about asking friends to save their grass clippings for me, but have decided against it since they might contain weed seeds or grass seeds, and that would work against me as far as keeping weeds down.
I could see how newspaper could work in smaller beds, but for me, the wind factor would probably eliminate that option.
Read more about general mulch choices on Cornell Universities Gardening resources page.
And for vegetable gardens in particular here.
What mulch do you use in your garden?
photo credit creative commons license cdsessums
So... what do you think? Please leave me a comment.
