Everything you need to know about Mulching

Mulching is a surface coating of organic material applied to surface of  soil to protect it and improve its properties. Available in a variety of materials, mulching is one of the most effective ways to maintain plant health.

In the summer, mulch performs the functions of not only protecting and enriching the soil with useful elements, but also a number of other equally important functions.

Autumn mulching is used to protect the soil from weathering, leaching and freezing, which is key to good plant development for the coming year.

Benefits of Mulching

Mulch has a beneficial effect on soil and plants:

• retains water in the soil
• reduces the number of weeds
• prevents overheating of the soil in summer and freezing in winter
• helps prevent splashes containing pathogens from entering the soil during watering and rain
• prevents soil erosion;
• prevents the formation of crusts on the soil, which improves the absorption of water into the soil
• keeps soil friability
• encourages growth from roots.

Using mulch as a garden décor

There are many methods and options to diversify any garden. For this purpose, various decorative coatings are used for all types of soil, including bark mulch, stone chips and wood chips.

With the help of these materials, it is possible to transform already existing structures, as well as those that are still in development, into a masterpiece.

Using mulch as a decor, you can visually change the geometry of the garden, make its winding lines more static or dynamic. Features such as a flowerbed, which has always been inconspicuous, will become the center of attention.

Mulch is an excellent material for garden decoration. It is used as a carpet floor under a garden tree, to decorate the “bare” soil, and all kinds of flowerbeds.

With mulch, you can completely modify the landscape design of your garden and the whole area in general. In addition, it is often used with plants to help them grow.

Winter soil mulching

In organic gardening, mulching is a very important technique. It allows you to preserve the fertility of the nutrition of the roots of the soil layer.

Some very diligent gardeners, after harvesting, remove weeds, dig up the soil, level the surface and so leave for the winter, admiring the neat view of the garden. It is believed that the soil is resting. However, the uncovered soil does not rest, but collapses. 

The main function of winter mulch is to protect the topsoil from drying out and freezing. For winter mulching coarse mulch materials are used. The thickness of the mulch layer is 6–8 cm. After harvesting, perennial weeds are removed, the soil is loosened, the compost is applied and the top is covered with mulch.

All of the above materials refer to the so-called organic mulch. In some cases, inorganic mulch is recommended - gravel, expanded clay, film. When choosing a material, keep in mind that for winter months mulch has very different requirements than summer.

In addition to protecting the soil, winter mulch performs another function - protection from freezing of the roots and organs of perennial plants. Planting bulbous, and perennial onions, and decorative need mandatory mulching. The same can be said about other perennial ornamental plants. The roots of fruit trees and berry bushes in winter can suffer from frost, especially in cold, snowless winters. Therefore, it is preferable to cover the mulch in the winter, receding half a meter from the trunk and to the perimeter of the crown. To do this, you can use all types of mulch, including fallen leaves.

Summer Mulching

Summer, in addition to protecting the surface of the soil, performs such important functions as fertilizer, suppression of weeds, preservation of moisture, etc. The mowed grass, weeds and black film are well suited to these requirements. None of this is required from winter mulch, so the materials used here are different.