Mulch is good stuff. You've seen it around town, covering the ground in between ornamental plants in front of the dentist's office and the bank. It's great at filling negative space, but apart from that, the similarities between mulch and Paris Hilton end. It's often a reddish shredded bark, or maybe a dark brown hairy shapeless creature-looking thing. Our horticultural expert (horti-pert?) treats mulch as the answer to all gardening questions. Too much water? Mulch. Too much direct sun? Mulch it. Frigid winters with gusty winds and frozen earth? Why, mulch, of course!
Though it appears soft and fluffy, and perhaps even lifeless, it's actually hard at work. A happy layer of cedar, spruce, pine, or even nutshells or crumbled rubber serves a number of plant needs. For instance, temperature control: A layer of mulch insulates tender roots when it's cold and shields them from sun when it's warm. Similarly, winter: Mulch keeps the plant safe while in hibernation mode during cold winter months.
Nutrition: Mulch feeds roots with its constant, steady (so selfless!) degradation, amending the soil when you don't have time. Weed control: Weeds love sun as much as the next plant, so they're hard to eliminate. But if you lay down some friendly mulch at some point during your planting,
you can black out the little buggers that are already there and prevent new ones from sprouting. Moisture retention: In dry climates, a layer of mulch traps the moisture, keeping your plant roots safe and saturated. Drainage/aeration: Conversely, harmoniously, mulch helps air circulate above your plant roots, helping them to breathe and not rot.
There's also an earthy phenomenon called green mulch, or living mulch. Case in point, our peas. Our peas are towering pea-producing powerhouses whose own leaves and stalks block out the sun, limiting weed-growth and protecting the roots. At their genesis, we planted them at about 3" apart, which gave them plenty of room to breathe and receive the sun, and they've grown with just enough room around them to be beneficial. In contrast, our greens are an example of high density seeding, which is less than good.
When you over seed an area, you create a stagnant environment, aka, an insect haven. Tight greens mean protection from the wind, plenty of water, and a warm incubated habitat--basically a five star hotel for
snails with a free buffet. So our chard is a bit munched and our romaine hosts a few more cocoons than we'd like but all in all the greens are doing just fine. Of course they are, we mulched them.
Mulch is good stuff. You've seen it around town, covering the ground in between ornamental plants in front of the dentist's office and the bank. It's great at filling negative space, but apart from that, the similarities between mulch and Paris Hilton end. It's often a reddish shredded bark, or maybe a dark brown hairy shapeless creature-looking thing. Our horticultural expert (horti-pert?) treats mulch as the answer to all gardening questions. Too much water? Mulch. Too much direct sun? Mulch it. Frigid winters with gusty winds and frozen earth? Why, mulch, of course! 
Though it appears soft and fluffy, and perhaps even lifeless, it's actually hard at work. A happy layer of cedar, spruce, pine, or even nutshells or crumbled rubber serves a number of plant needs. For instance, temperature control: A layer of mulch insulates tender roots when it's cold and shields them from sun when it's warm. Similarly, winter: Mulch keeps the plant safe while in hibernation mode during cold winter months. 
Nutrition: Mulch feeds roots with its constant, steady (so selfless!) degradation, amending the soil when you don't have time. Weed control: Weeds love sun as much as the next plant, so they're hard to eliminate. But if you lay down some friendly mulch at some point during your planting, 
you can black out the little buggers that are already there and prevent new ones from sprouting. Moisture retention: In dry climates, a layer of mulch traps the moisture, keeping your plant roots safe and saturated. Drainage/aeration: Conversely, harmoniously, mulch helps air circulate above your plant roots, helping them to breathe and not rot. 
There's also an earthy phenomenon called green mulch, or living mulch. Case in point, our peas. Our peas are towering pea-producing powerhouses whose own leaves and stalks block out the sun, limiting weed-growth and protecting the roots. At their genesis, we planted them at about 3" apart, which gave them plenty of room to breathe and receive the sun, and they've grown with just enough room around them to be beneficial. In contrast, our greens are an example of high density seeding, which is less than good. 
When you over seed an area, you create a stagnant environment, aka, an insect haven. Tight greens mean protection from the wind, plenty of water, and a warm incubated habitat--basically a five star hotel for snails with a free buffet. So our chard is a bit munched and our romaine hosts a few more cocoons than we'd like but all in all the greens are doing just fine. Of course they are, we mulched them.
4 comments:
Great info - thanks for the lesson on the wonders of mulch.
Could you post an article about composting? Thanks.
Our friend Kim's question about/dislike of mulch: After she mulches an area, she feels she can't dig up that plant again, nor can she plant anything new because the mulch covers everything.
The Gardener says it's easy, you just need a rake. By using a rake and clearing a patch of mulch which is a bit larger than what you actually need in order to plant a newbie, you give yourself room to 1. keep mulch out of the freshly-dug hole, 2. keep your mulch clean, 3. and pile dirt from the hole around its edge to then pack around the new plant.
Do you have a favorite mulch?
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