Alongside fertilizing, mulch was not at the top of my list for my vegetable garden. It seemed to be not as important and as fun as choosing what to grow so I was totally not into it. Boy, was I wrong! Mulch has so many benefits that you are really doing yourself a disservice by leaving it out of your garden. Here are some pros, cons, and options in regards to adding mulch to your garden this upcoming growing season.
This article will go over a brief introduction to mulch in reference to vegetable gardening. We’ll discuss what mulch is, the different types of mulch, benefits, and how to use it in your garden.
What is Mulch?
Mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of soil. It’s purpose is to improve it’s current growing environment. Different options are available that makes mulch easily assessible and affordable, but for this article we’ll discuss mulch in regards to vegetable gardening which in turn can be applied to flowering gardening as well.
Types of Mulch
Organic mulch is plant byproduct where inorganic mulch is man made products.
Wood Chips – organic – You get chunky, fine, or shredded bark from your local nursery bagged or in bulk and/or local tree cutting company.
Straw – organic – the byproduct of grains
Compost – organic
Leaves – organic
Cardboard – organic
Rubber mulch – inorganic
Plastic – inorganic
Benefits
Retains moisture/temperature – Retaining moisture is ideal in warm and cooler weather because both environments can rapidly remove necessary water from the soil causing you to water more often. Mulch acts as a blanket insulating the soil so what needs to stay in, will.
Deter bugs – Some bugs such as slug and snails hate rough surfaces and will avoid at all cost. In these instances, mulch is usually a rough surface and can deter those type of bugs.
Compostable – Organic mulch will break down at some point and add to the biodiversity of your soil. As a gardener, you always want to consider building healthy soil and mulch can be apart of such.
Beautification – Mulch adds a consistent look to your soil especially across multiple garden beds.
Block Weeds – Mulch also can block light from reaching most weed seeds and preventing germination.
Cons
Weeds – Some mulch such as wood chips and straw can possibly have weed seeds in them resulting in sprouts. In our experience, its typically wheatgrass etc.
Pests – in the fall, pests are more concerned with hiding place and hibernating. Sometimes that hiding place can be your mulch unfortunately.
How & When To Apply
Mulch can be counterproductive if you “overmulch” causing water to NOT reach the soil or “undermulching” can result in not preventing weeds or evaporation. Therefore, adding anywhere from 2-4 inches is ideal. Also, apply mulch when your seedlings have sprouted and have somewhat of a stronger stem. Because it can block light from reaching the soil, you can block light from reaching newly sown seeds.
FAQS
Does mulch break down?
Yes, an easy rule to go by is the bigger the mulch material the longer it takes to break down. In my experience, straw took one growing season to break down. It was still visibly straw, but I was able to mix it into the soil.
Does mulch have weed seeds?
Some can! Some straw and hay will have wheat and oat seeds that will germinate. Usually when cut it down