Using Mulch in Your Garden

Posted by Cathy England
August 26th, 2009
Filed in Garden Maintenance
Tags: Compost, mulch, soil health

There are many individuals who automatically think of mulch as being the shredded bark that is colored red, brown or black and is used primarily to beautify the landscape in flower gardens.  This method of mulching has its benefits which should not be discounted.  Any type of mulch retains moisture and suppresses weeds.  However, this should not be the only type of mulch that is used in the garden.  What other types of mulch are appropriate in the home garden, when and why should they be used?

Buying “beautification” mulch often results in a hard hit to the wallet, and in these economic times, cutting back on unnecessary is of interest to most people. However, if using the purchased forms of mulch, ensure that they are free of dyes and are labeled organic.  All natural mulch, even bark, will eventually break down in the soil, and the organic gardener certainly does not want to compromise the health of the soil by using the wrong product.

Make Your Own Mulch

As an alternative to buying mulch, you can easily make your own! It may result in a little more sweat equity than going to the local home center and loading up on bags. This involves any garden material that you lay on your soil to help it retain moisture and suppress weeds. The only difference between this and bark (or artifical mulch created through recycled tires) is that it this mulch will more quickly break down into the soil.

This could be a drawback if you are looking to spend less time maintaining your garden — but the powerful bonus is that since this home-made mulch breaks down quickly, you suddenly have many cubic feet more of nutrient-rich top soil!

Here are some great sources of mulch:

• Compost-Most organic gardeners have been working on producing compost throughout the year. This is a great mulching material to place in the fall garden.
• Leaves-When chopped prior to mulching, leaves are a very effective and often abundant source of mulch in the garden. If a gardener does not have a lot of trees, or access to piles of leaves, now is the time to ask for the help of neighbors or friends. Many people spend hours blowing, raking and bagging leaves to place out at the curbside and often placed into landfills. It is important to use chopped leaves (use a bagging mower), because whole leaves are more likely to mat and break down less easily in the garden.
• Grass clippings-Grass clippings are great additions to garden beds throughout the gardening season. Very often, grass clippings are bountiful at least one time per week in the spring and summer. Don’t have enough, again, talk to neighbors. Just ensure that they are not using chemical fertilizers or pesticides on their lawns. It is also important to be careful of weeds in your lawn that may winter over and plague the garden before getting started. (Grass clippings are also best left on your lawn as part of your grasscycling routine – so, again, think of neighbors or other sources, or alternate – one mow you bag for your mulch, the next mow you leave on the grass.)
• Pine needles-These need to be used carefully, and should only be used on acid loving plants such as blueberry bushes, azaleas, rhododendron and hydrangeas. For the most part, vegetable gardens do not benefit from this increase in acidity in the soil.
• Newspapers-Use shredded newsprint from your paper (make sure the ink is made from vegetable dyes). A neat way to shred your newspapers is to lay down sheets on your lawn and mow over them. Do not use glossy magazine paper.
• Shredded Hay-If you have access to a farm, hay is a wonderful addition as mulch.

Materials to NOT mulch:

• Anything you wouldn’t put in your compost – Meat, diseased plants, weeds gone to seed, etc
• Plants that propogate easily, such as mint – let it dry in the sun for a few days to thoroughly kill it. Otherwise, they will easily grow in your mulch
• Materials that are too damp – spread it out on your lawn or patio for a few days to dry out. Too much dampness could harbor mold and other diseases

Mulch is also often thought of as something that is only thought of at the beginning of the growing season, when it fact, it can be used throughout the year.  Because home-made mulch quickly breaks down in the soil, it should be added throughout the growing season.

Using Mulch in Your Garden

First, decide how you are going to use the mulch. If it is going to be used as a weed-suppressant or to help retain moisture in the soil, cover the area first with landscape fabric, cardboard or several layers (at least 7) of newsprint. Then, spread your mulch thickly and evenly using a rake.

Make sure to leave some space around plants – about 4 to 6 inches. Placing mulch right up against the stems of plants is a sure-fire way of harming or killing them. You need space around your plants for the following reasons:

• To provide aeration to the stems (and thus avoid disease and too much dampness that encourages mold growth)
• For rainfall to reach the roots
• For air to reach the roots (remember, plants need oxygen just like you and me

If you are making your own mulch, mix your ingredients together, or lay one material down over the other. Renew the mulch in mid-summer and fall, as most of it would have decomposed.

If you are using bark or artificial mulch, it will last for a few years. If you wish to add new plants later, simply scoop away some of your mulch and cut a hole in your landscape fabric underneath. When cutting the bag, cut lengthwise – then simply turn upside down to let the materials out.

If you have perennials and shrubs that need to be cut down in the winter, cover them with mulch as insulation. Remove the mulch as a six-inch hole in spring.

Benefits of Using Mulch in all Gardens

• Retention of moisture in the soil during times of drought.  Mulch is a very good way to keep moisture in to cut down on the need to water in between rainfalls during the summer.
• Mulch cuts down dramatically on the need to weed the garden.  This is often a benefit for the organic gardener, as keeping up with other aspects of producing a healthy garden take precedence.
• Mulch adds organic matter to the soil, especially when added after the garden beds are cleaned up for the year.  Over the fall and in the early spring, earthworms and other organisms will break down some of the mulch which improves and adds humus to the soil.  It is perhaps the easiest way to accomplish this task, and when dug in in the spring will provide a great growing medium for great growing.
• Mulch can prolong the growing season, and protect young berry bushes, fruit trees and newly transplanted perennials.  This is due to the fact that during cold weather, heavy layers of mulch will serve a gardener well in insulating the soil around root vegetables, so that they can be harvested well into the late fall and early winter months.

Drawbacks of Using Mulch in the Garden

• Mulch can offer a breeding ground for insects, voles and other pests in the garden.
• If the wrong mulching materials are used, they can cause to much acidity for certain plants, and thus require careful planning of those materials and where they should be used.

Mulch is so useful and can be used so many ways in the garden.  Use what you have the greatest access to.  While bark mulch, peat moss, and mushroom compost that need to be purchased are good substitutes, it is satisfying to know that yard waste is being put to good use, and not being dumped in the landfill.