Mulching is one of the most common horticulture practices , yet so many landscapist and gardeners do it all awry .
You might not think there could be a “ awry way of life ” to mulch , but there definitely is . Mulch not only beautifies your garden and suppresses locoweed , it also interacts with the grime and serve as a nursing home forbeneficial insectsand organism . When done correctly , it helps tobuild and protect soiland support industrial plant .
What mulch does for your garden (besides make it look pretty).
When you apply a wood - based mulch such as pine barque , cedar tree check , or wood chips to your garden beds ( no landscape material underneath ! ) , the mulch interact with the soil . It promotes gas commutation at the surface and slow up and help water system penetration , which reduce wearing away . Mulch also slows vaporisation and reduce soil compaction , as base traffic does n’t come into lineal physical contact with the territory . Over a number of season , thewood mulchslowly offend down with the help of fungi at the grease airfoil , providing a type of composting .
But unlike composting , the breakdown of mulch is like to how Modern soil is made in a forest . In woodlands , wood and leaves that diminish from trees and industrial plant sit on the soil surface and very slow deteriorate . While doing so , this so - calledduff layersupports thediverse ecosystem near the territory ’s surfaceand finally becomes the humic acid that feed flora . And it ’s the same in your garden – think of mulch as next soil .
Mulch is not just for decoration
unluckily , many homeowners view mulch as stringently decorative and that ’s why inorganic product likedyed , shredded India rubber “ mulch”proliferate . These products do little to help your garden or its plants , and some can even become an environmental hazard . Inorganic mulch like natural rubber never completely violate down and eventually need to be removed from gardens and shipped to a landfill . That is plainly not outstanding for the ecosystem ( this does n’t let in inorganic mulches like stone – see below ) .
Mulch volcanoes may kill your trees.
Just say no to mulch volcanoes!Inexperienced landscapers are notorious for this Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree - kill praxis . Not only does throng mulch around the base of a tree promote barque decay , but it also makes a all right home plate for mouse , voles , and other small gnawer . If that was n’t reason enough to stop making mulch volcanoes , the tree diagram ’s roots will grow into the mulch , which stand for you ’ll have base uprise above the land line . This is very , very bad for the tree ’s retentive - term health and may kill it .
Mulch should always be a few inches off from the tree trunk and never up against it , much less covering the base of the tree . Mulch is n’t need after the first season when the tree diagram has claim radical , and after that power point it ’s strictly decorative . And do n’t worry about grass growing under a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree – it will not interpose with the tree ’s uptake of wet and nutrient . Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree roots grow late in the soil , far below the grasses roots .
How mulch controls weeds and helps soil.
What materials make the best mulch?
Are gravel and rocks considered mulch?
Stones , crushed rock , and other small rock candy can be used as mulch , but are inorganic , so they wo n’t break down and contribute to building novel soil . However , they do moderate piss evaporation and soil going , and can help retard wildfires near your home , so they emphatically have their place .
Any Lucy Stone used for mulch should be smaller than a half - inch in diameter for the benefits of water preservation and weed suppression . magnanimous stone sizes do not function well as mulches but may provide landscape interestingness . Pea gravel has been demonstrate to improve pee infiltration into the soil , especially in short , vivid result like thunderstorms . Gravel mulch transfer more heat to underlying soil than wood chip mulch . This may serve to keep landscape painting plant in good overall wellness in cold - wintertime temperate climate like ours . Gravel mulch ’s warming effect can raise biological action down to one metrical foot below earth during cold month and result in more vigorous plants . It can also channelize heat to buildings and utilities or cause some cutter plants to begin develop too early in the spring .
What shouldn’t I use for mulch?
landscape painting fabric ( weed barriers ) , charge card sheeting , shred and dye rubber tire ( or any rubber production ) , or anything that ’s not organic ( besides Harlan F. Stone ) should never be used as a mulch . If it ’s constitutional it will get around down and help to ramp up soil . If not ( like rubber ) , it will just lay there and eventually you ’ll have to send it off to a landfill .
How to mulch the right way.
Mulching perennial garden beds.
Before mulch your garden beds , add a 2 - 3″ layer of compost to feed your plants over the season . Then , lend 1 - 2″ of mulch .
Mulch with large chips is great for walkways , because it does n’t expose down quickly . In garden beds , use a exquisitely shredded mulch like triple ground wood mulch . Also , choose something brown in color , so that it blends in with the dirt – keep the focus on the plants , not in between them .
In repeated beds , be deliberate with your timing . If you have flowers that reseed every year , do n’t cover your beds with mulch too ahead of time or those semen will never germinate . The same live on for plants that rise from bulbs . expect until the plant have grown a few column inch and then mulch . You also want to await until perennials that pass away back in winter emerge from quiescence and start growing . If you cover the crowns with mulch , there ’s a good prospect they ’ll rot .
Let the leave-taking lay . Some landscapers remove fallen folio and twigs and other yard waste with aleaf blowerbefore mulching . Do n’t permit them do it . Leave small plant dust and disease - free leave of absence in place and cover them with mulch – it will help in decomposition and support organisms at the soil control surface . All of this helps to build new soil .
Does mulching affect ground nesting bees?
Most species of aboriginal bees nest in your garden soil . But you ’d never know it , because they come and go so quickly and keep to themselves .
When mulching , please allow some bare spaces at the edge of your beds , or lead an entire bed mulch - free , as these bees can not burrow ( or wo n’t ) under the mulch . A heavy alternative to mulching is to usenative groundcovers that support pollinatorsand eliminate the need for mulch .
Mulching vegetable garden beds.
It ’s okay to practice a finely shred Ellen Price Wood mulch in vegetable garden bed – it ’s actually very good for suppressing certain fungal diseases . And of class , apply the freehanded chips in walkways between yourraised bedsor in between rows in flat world garden . Also okay to utilise are straw , chopped foliage , and untreated ( no pesticides ) grass clippings . Do n’t use hay like I did one year – I was pulling gage in my veggie bed for about 4 yr after that error .
Remember that the plants are the focus , not the mulch . Mulch is a corking friend to gardeners when used correctly .
source : Why Your Garden Needs Mulch , New York Times
