Mulching is one of the greatest things you can do for your garden. The mulch is essentially a protective barrier around your plants and can be made up of a variety of decomposing organic materials like wood chips, bark, straw, pine needles, cocoa bean shells or even non-composing materials like pebbles and river rock. Let’s take a look at a few benefits mulching has on your garden.
Controls Weeds:
By mulching your garden, you can control and limit the number of weeds that pop up in the open spaces of your garden. The mulch will serve as a barrier, limiting the amount of sunlight that will find its way to the weeds.
Holds Moisture:
Organic mulch will absorb moisture, cover the soil and limit evaporation. By retaining moisture, particularly during hot and dry seasons, your plants will benefit along with your water bill.
Prevents Soil Erosion:
Mulching keeps existing water intact in the soil and it also keeps rainwater from washing away your soil by breaking the fall of the water and therefore lessening the force when the water hits the ground.
Helps Soil Maintain Nutrients Mulch keeps soil nutrients from being swept away with the rain, and it can also release nutrients into the soil if you are using an organic material for the mulch. As the organic material slowly decomposes on top of the soil, the nutrients are released.
Controls Pests:
Mulch such as cedar bark can keep certain pests out since cedar bark has natural oils that act as an insect repellant. If you find fragrant mulch, this will have the greatest effect on insects. Be careful, as some mulches can encourage insects to come into your garden and sometimes even your home, so make sure to do research on which type of mulch will suit your needs best. When you add mulch to your garden beds, try to avoid piling mulch against the stems of plants or tree trunks as this can lead to insect and disease issues. Generally, 2-4 inches of mulch is recommended for most plants.
Welcomes Earthworms:
Using organic material for mulching can welcome earthworms into your garden soil. Earthworms help to improve soil structure and nutrient cycling.
Gives Your Garden a Polished Look:
Mulch can give your garden a nice pristine look by filling in those empty spaces and it is also one of the easiest fillers to keep up with. Groundcovers, grass and other types of fillers can take a lot of maintenance and care, like mowing and watering along with competing for resources with your garden plants. Mulch is simple to care for and does not compete with your other plants. Mulching around trees will promote a healthy environment and it will keep maintenance equipment like weed whips far from the tree trunks.
Mulch offers a multitude of benefits for your garden and requires little maintenance. If you are looking for a way to spruce up your garden, mulch may be the ideal solution.
Please stay healthy and we hope to hear from you soon to discuss your property search and status.
Until Next Time!
Semper-Fi
Eric