GardeningPros

By Dayelle I Swensson

It is a good practice to spread mulch on top of your soil around your plantings every spring and fall. Mulch your garden when you want to suppress weed growth, retain moisture in your soil, keep your soil cool, plus make your garden even more attractive.

This ground covering comes in many varieties. Shredded or chipped bark is the most common of the organic mulches. It also is the most dense, woody, and dry meaning it will take longer for the nutrients to break down and enter into your soil. Others include: compost, composted manure, straw, grass clippings, newspaper, and shredded leaves. Of these mulches, find out where it originated because you do not want mulch containing a lot of weed seeds to germinate in your soil. Organic mulch increases your soil's fertility giving your plants a good foundation to grow. It has to be replaced because it naturally decomposes; but as it does this, your soil becomes even more rich in the process.

Because the woody bark mulches do not mix well into soil, avoid using them in places where you expect to be digging up the soil to put in new plantings. Use bark mulches around trees, shrubs or the plantings around your house foundation.

Side dress your plants with compost and composted manure during the growing season and you will see how fast it makes your plants grow. These mulches boost the nutrients in the soil, but make sure they are weed free.

The best use for straw mulch is your vegetable garden. It keeps the paths between the rows of crop weed free and less muddy. Because straw mulch decomposes very slowly, it will last for the whole growing season and is easy to take up when the garden is ready to be put to bed.

Grass clippings are the most green mulch with a high water content. They decompose rather rapidly and have an odor so use this mulch in a remote area of your yard. Because of the high water content, they can be slimy and slippery. Use grass clippings to cover open, unplanted areas or bare spots on your lawn. If pesticides are used on your lawn then do not use this mulch where you want to plant flower beds, and of course, not near your vegetable garden. You can also mix in grass clippings (untreated only) to your compost bin.

Newspaper as mulch can be laid down in layers as a weed barrier over the ground before another mulch such as bark mulch or gravel is spread over it to make a path in your garden. Shredded newspaper has been used for years to keep plant roots moist while shipping.

Shredded leaves are nature's mulch and are free. Earthworms love the fallen and shredded leaves. Spread this mulch over your vegetable garden after harvest in the fall to begin decomposing over the winter. The leaves that are not shredded retain the most moisture and in the spring you can break them up easily and work them into the soil.

------------------------------

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

MissesGarden

I found a website that shows how to deep mulch garden areas so you eliminate weeding and a lot less watering: MyBackAchers.com
They have a lot of links to videos on how to do this in many types of gardening applications.

MJJ

I just started a thread under "General Gardening" regarding mulching. Any suggestions on alternates to straw as a mulch for a good sized (30' x 60') vegetable garden? We've used straw for years and love it but it is getting very hard to find in our rural area. Seems odd but most of the local farmers aren't producing much oat straw anymore. And what is produced seems to be put up in large, round bales - too big for me to handle! I may be able to get some from local Amish farmers but don't know yet. There is no wheat growing here - mostly corn, soybean, and alfalfa.

So any suggestions on good, cheap alternatives (maybe I grow?) to oat straw. Would shredded corn stover work?

tenna222

Mulching the garden is the final project to be completed after the planting is done. Placing a three to four inch deep layer of organic material on the ground surrounding your plants provides numerous benefits.

Weeds are drastically reduced after mulching since sunlight is virtually shut out. Weeds that do appear are easily plucked out. If the area you wish to mulch has roots or seeds that could sprout through more vigorously, simply put a section of newspaper over the area and wet it before the mulch is applied.

Watering a mulched garden bed can be done less frequently because while the mulch allows rainwater, irrigation and dew into the soil, evaporation is slowed considerably. Growing plants generally need about an inch of water per week. The ideal way to acquire this amount of water is in one application, as this gives the water a chance to penetrate the soil to a depth that encourages deeper root growth. Use a rain gauge under your sprinkler to see how long it takes to make an inch. Mulch also prevents excessive splashing when it rains heavily. You can see if the garden needs watering by simply moving a bit of the mulch aside and checking the soil.