It's Mulching Time!

When you see a well tended garden, you feel refreshed and at peace. The green grass and bright colored flowers are a pleasure to the eyes. However to achieve that green garden look, some work is required. One of the best ways to help your garden to look healthy and green is giving it a good mulching compound.

Mulches are a layer of protective material that is placed over the soil around your plants and shrubs. They can be organic mulches or inorganic mulches. As the gardener you must choose which type of mulching will suit your garden.

Organic mulches are very similar in effect to pine needles and leaves that fall to the ground in forests. As organic mulches are of plant matter, they decompose over a period of time. This decomposed mulch helps to keep the soil moist and the plant roots cool, while keeping nutrients in the soil.

There is a variety of organic mulching material that can be used. Bark, Wood Chips, Sawdust, Straw, Pine Straw, Shredded Leaves and Newspaper are some of the materials that can be used for mulching. As each of these mulches have different characteristics, you should know where each applies when laying them in the garden in terms of look and preference.

The downside to Bark, Wood Chips, Sawdust, Straw and Shredded Leaves is that they can be washed away in the rain, rob the soil of nitrogen and let weeds grow in between their organic matter. However Bark and Wood Chips can give an attractive look to the garden.

Pine Straw and Newspaper mulching are considered the best for your garden. Newspaper mulching works best for your vegetable garden because it helps to suppress weeds. Pine Straw mulching works like natural fallen pine needles. They decompose slowly, resist being washed away, and keep the nutrients in the soil to prevent leaching.

Inorganic mulches like crushed stone, gravel and volcanic rock have a tendency to work their way into the soil. When this happens, you will have some trouble getting them out when you want to do some digging. This type of mulching is somewhat permanent.

Plastic mulches are primarily used for vegetable plots. Irrigation paths can be laid out on the ground beneath the plastic mulching. This will keep the soil moist and the plants well watered. You can also cut holes in the plastic mulching where you want water to go into your vegetable plot.

The other type of inorganic mulch available are geotextiles. Geotextiles are fabric mulch made out of polypropylene or polyester. While a closely woven geotextile mulching allows water and fertilizer to enter the soil, its tight weave inhibits the growth of weeds. This is probably the best type of inorganic mulching for your garden.

In conclusion, the health of your garden can be greatly improved by using mulch. You will still need to keep an eye on those pesky weeds though and pull them out, but in the long run, this too should be easier for you.

Don't forget to stop by our next article where you can find out some great tips about perennials.