Benefits Of Mulch

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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 waterings
• maintains a more even soil temperature
• prevents weed growth
• keeps fruits …show more content…

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 unmulched soil; while in the

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