what is mulching and its advantages
Mulch is a fundamental part of gardening to keep plants looking good and productive all year long. If you don’t know how to topcoat yet, it’s important to learn when to coat, the right depth of coating, and the right type of coating.
What is Mulch?
Contents
At its simplest, mulch is any material that covers the surface of the soil. In nature, humus is just fallen leaves and plant debris. In the garden, mulch can also include compost, wood chips, rotting manure, cardboard, or even seaweed. Done correctly, mulch provides nutrients to the microorganisms that live in our soil and the waste from these tiny microorganisms creates a healthier soil structure for plants. inhibit compaction.
Benefits of coating
There are many other benefits of coatings:
- In winter, the soil under the mulch will be warmer than the unprotected soil. This protects the plants from the cycle of freezing and thawing (which can push them out of the ground).
- Prevents scaling of the soil surface. Water moves more easily into the mulched soil instead of flowing out.
- Keep soil from splashing on leaves; Keeping the soil off the leaves reduces the chance of the plant getting fungal and bacterial diseases.
- Break up and give the soil (if the humus is organic).
- Improves the structure of clay and the moisture holding capacity of sandy soil.
- Gradually increases soil fertility (if organic) and can make micronutrients already in the soil more available.
- Warm the soil in spring, allowing gardeners to plant days or weeks before the soil is usually ready.
- Keep plants clean and off the ground, especially tomatoes and melons to prevent plant diseases.
- Limit the possibility of damage to the trunk by covering with mulch instead of grass.
- Improves plant health and growth (due to fewer weeds, more consistent soil moisture and temperature).
- Make the gardens “budding” and attractive, giving a uniform look and rhythm to the garden design.
Disadvantages of Mulching
While using mulch has many benefits, in some cases it can be detrimental to the garden:
- Too many layers of mulch (layers more than 3 inches deep) can bury and kill plants; water and oxygen cannot reach the roots. A layer of mulch 2 to 3 inches thick should suffice. NO major repairs.
- Mulch can contribute to bark rot if piled up around tree trunks and bushes. Keep the mulch 6 to 12 inches from the base of the woody plant. No more “volcanoes” around the trees! Keeping the mulch away from the trunk discourages wood-boring insects, rodents, and rotting.
- The mulch near the trunk is ideal for slugs, snails, tunnel rodents, and many other pests. Spread wood ash or humus around the base of the precious tree to keep slugs and snails away.
- Mulching can bake your plants with residual heat in mid-summer if not done properly. (See more below.)
- Wood-based, light-colored mulch, such as sawdust or fresh wood chips, can take nitrogen from the soil as they decompose. Combat this effect by adding a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, such as soybean meal, alfalfa, or cottonseed meal to the mulch. (Learn more about soil amendments.)
How many coatings are needed?
With most organic mulch, a layer of 2 to 3 inches is plenty. The finer the material, the thinner the layer required. The inorganic mulch layer is usually shallower. For example, a small stone cover usually only needs to be an inch deep. If you want this deep coating…… You will need this much coating to cover 100 square feet 2 inches 18 cubic feet 3 inches 27 cubic feet 1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feetDry mulch — which includes sawdust, wood chips, peat moss, and hay — can be a fire hazard. Keep them away from buildings to be safe.
Types of Mulch
The ideal mulch should be thick enough to prevent weeds from growing but light and airy enough to allow water and air to reach the soil. Factors to consider when purchasing mulch are cost, availability, ease of application, and area of the mulch in the garden. There are many materials with different colors and textures to choose from. Both organic and inorganic mulch can be used effectively in the garden.Organic coatingOrganic mulch is the natural product of leaves, trees, grasses, and other plant materials, usually from your own yard. They mimic nature, breaking down over time. The advantage is that they actually add organic matter to the soil. The disadvantage is that they have to be replenished periodically.
- Compost readily available and decomposes rapidly to improve soil. If you don’t have your own produce, often towns make it ready from their leaf composting facilities. The downside is that it requires supplements and may contain weed seeds.
- Shredded or chopped bark. The softwood bark humus is attractive, resists compaction and decomposes slowly. Hardwood bark is attractive but spoils quickly and needs to be properly composted to avoid rot and fungal damage.
- Chopped leaves and leaf mold readily available and, if chopped, will eventually be broken down and provide the soil with beneficial materials. The disadvantage is that the leaves can get wet if wet, reducing oxygen and moisture in the soil. Avoid layers of wet leaves that have been covered with frost.
- Straw and salt marsh dry grass inexpensive and a useful coating; however, they decompose more rapidly, can harbor rodents and are easily blown away by the wind.
- Cut the grass ready but should be dried first or spread thinly to prevent them from becoming a hot, slimy, smelly mess. Also, you cannot use chemically treated grass clippings in the food garden.
- Pine leaves attractive and stays in place better than most coatings. They break down slowly and aren’t as acidic as you’d expect, so don’t worry about them altering the pH of the soil.
- Local by-products, such as spent from a brewery, cocoa pods, ground corn, coffee grounds, newspapersor carton maybe a lot. Creation!
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Image: Cover the grass around the salvia plant. Credit: Mark Herreid / ShutterstockInorganic coating
- Black plastic coating help to warm the soil in spring, reduce water loss, convenient. This can make a big difference in short growing seasons. However, it is not waterproof so it is more difficult to water; It also deteriorates when exposed to sunlight and the soil under the resin becomes very hot in midsummer if not shaded by leaves or covered with another layer of mulch.
- Silver plastic coating excels at warming soil in spring but does not control weeds; the soil becomes even hotter with clear sap in midsummer and trees can be damaged if the resin is not shaded from the sun.
- Crushed stone, gravel, marble or rubble Provides long-lasting mulch around shrubs and trees. That said, these mulches are expensive, hard to move, and can get into the lawn. Weed seeds and soil can still find their way into rocks; A layer of landscape fabric underneath will help prevent this.
- Landscape fabric dispel weeds while allowing air, fertilizer and water to move through them and into the soil. They are treated to resist decomposition and they help retain soil moisture. It is important to tie the fabric down so that perennial weeds do not push them up.
How to apply overlay
Mulch in the fallNormally, we don’t use mulch in the fall, except for bare, uncultivated garden beds to prevent erosion. If you are not planting a winter cover crop (which you will till the spring), you should spread a thick layer of soil conditioning compost or rotting organic matter over the open ground. You can also use chopped leaves. Place at least 4 inches deep, otherwise, do not mulch your landscape in the fall. The soil will not cool down quickly and the plant can continue to grow. New growth may not harden and may be damaged by winter cold. Additionally, mulching in the fall keeps the soil moist, which can lead to root rot and plant death.Note: If you’re setting up new areas, start by clearing the surface of any debris and any rocks larger than a hen’s egg. Weed or cut weeds to the ground. After a few months, the grass and weeds underneath will rot, while the earthworms will work to gradually incorporate organic matter into the soil below.Mulch in winterOnce you’ve had a few freezes (usually around Thanksgiving or later), then apply winter mulch around the base of any tender perennials or new plants. Grafted plants, like hybrid tea roses, benefit from multiple layers of mulch. Mulch, straw, pine needles or shredded leaves are all good mulches for the winter. Apply 3 to 4 inches. It is important to apply enough mulch in the winter to keep the frozen ground completely covered so that the plant can stay dormant until spring no matter what kind of warm or cold weather occurs. As this invites rodents to gnaw on the bark. Protect the branches and shoots of evergreen or semi-evergreen shrubs such as azaleas and honeysuckle by wrapping them in burlap or securing them with shredded leaf guard for insulation.
WARNING: Do Not poop like this! The “mulch volcano” will rot the roots.Cover with straw in springRead more: What is Tibetan Silver? (Tips to Know) | Top Q&A Remove winter mulch in spring when the danger of hard frost has passed so the ground can warm and new growth will not be stunted. absorbent landscape fabric on multiple beds.
Image: Waterproof landscape fabric Or spread a layer of cardboard before adding organic matter. Thoroughly wet the cardboard to help it deteriorate faster. The cardboard will act as a barrier to the weeds, exhausting them and eventually killing most of them. Once the growing season begins, you’ll find that any weeds that get through will be easier to remove.
We then cover the tubes with cloth to speed up the temperature change of the soil and warm the soil for earlier planting.
Planting holes are drilled at different distances for different crops. Watering is very efficient and maintenance of a large area becomes much easier. When the tree is just the right size, the fabric will be covered and won’t look too bad! We also use organic mulch consisting of straw, mold, grass clippings, wood chips and leaves for cooler crops. Replace old mulch as old mulch rots or is incorporated into the soil, so that the ground is supplied continuously and gradually accreted.
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