Mulching is a good technique for all gardeners to adopt. Whether you like a neat garden, hate weeding, or struggle with keeping your plants watered, mulching offers you a way to have a productive garden that requires less maintenance. In its simplest definition mulching is the act of covering your soil with some type of barrier. It can help with
- retaining moisture
- suppressing weeds
- improving the structure of your soil
- adding nutrients
- regulating soil temperature, and
- reducing soil compaction and erosion.
If you would like to benefit from any of these, check out these tips to get started:
1. Choose a Mulch:
You can use either an organic (plant materials, manure compost etc.) or non-organic mulches (landscape fabric, plastic etc.). Each has their own benefits. Organic mulches have the advantage of really improving your soil as they decompose into the soil. They may be harder to find unless you have a plentiful source in your yard (leaves, farm animal waste, moldy hay). Non-organic mulches can be purchased at your local nursery, or can be reused from your household waste (e.g. newspaper, cardboard etc.). In Loudoun county, you can find free sources of organic mulching materials on www.craigslist.com or www.freecycle.org. Search for keywords like compost, straw, and mulch. If using non-organic materials, I visit my local recycling center to pick up newspapers or cardboard. One persons trash, your treasure! Here is a listing of recycling centers in Loudoun county.
If you are choosing organic mulch, check out this list to determine which materials best suit the vegetables you are growing. It also provides tips on using non-organic mulches.
2. How and When to Apply
Here are a few good rules of thumbs for figuring out how and when to mulch:
- If using organic mulch, apply a thickness of 2-4 inches
- If you have existing weeds, remove them with as many of the roots as you can before applying mulch
- Wait until your soil has warmed up which is typically early spring
- Leave a buffer of space around your plants. Don’t put mulch directly against your plant stems, you don’t want them to rot
- If using non-organic mulch like landscape fabric, first cover your planting area with the material, then use scissors to open up areas to plant your seeds or plants
Although it does take some time and effort to mulch your garden, you will be repaid with a low maintenance garden that will produce fantastic food!
For a fun video on mulching, check out Mulch-zilla!
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