“Let’s talk about mulch baby, let’s talk about you and me! Let’s talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be, let’s talk about mulch”.
If you were not a Salt-n-Pepa fan in the 90’s, shame on you! Last week we discussed soil fertility and why it’s important. This week we discuss mulch; whether or not mulching is important, how to apply mulch and what materials you can use for mulch. So, brace yourself for some talk about the mysterious topic of mulch.
So what makes mulch so mysterious?
NOT A DAMN THING. In simplest terms, mulch is just simply covering soil. That is it. Nothing more nothing less. However, there is still some confusion about the importance of mulch and why we bother using it. On a cold night, if you had blankets at the foot of your bed, why would you not use them? It’s cold! Use the blanky. If you have a dresser full of clothes, would you leave your house to go to Target without putting clothes on.
Probably not, unless you are on the freaky side.
If you are on the freaky side of the spectrum, no worries, I am in no position to judge you. Just keep your junk to yourself. Now that we got all the important stuff out of the way, let’s get to it. Soil does not like to be left uncovered, nor does mother nature condone nakedness on her watch.
You see, when soil is left uncovered, it is exposed to the elements.
Wind, sun, heat, cold. So just as us humans adapt to the elements by wearing warm clothes in the winter and less clothes and sun protection in the summer, so does the soil. In a natural forest, you most likely will not be able to find bare soil, unless a naughty human had something to do with it.
Mother nature takes care of the business side of things on her own. In the fall, the weather begins to cool, sending signals to the trees that it is time to rest. So the trees will begin to drop their leaves to prepare for dormancy. These leaves fall to the forest floor efficiently and naturally, providing a blanket for the soil during the coming colder months of winter.
Cue the rain!
The rain now begins to saturate this blanket of leaves and branches, which in turn, develops into rich nutritious humus. Humus is a valuable and important nutrient that plants need to grow. In time, the leaves and other organic materials will begin to break down feeding the forest for free.
This valuable mulch cover not only feeds the forest but protects the soil, helps prevent erosion, and can create a natural guard against invasive species. By the time spring comes and the forest begins to awaken from dormancy it will have been fed all the nutrition it needs to get through the hot summer months.
But that is not all the mulch does.
The mulch cover also provides a home for beneficial insects and soil microbes. What’s there not to love about leaves. So, the short answer is YES. Mulching is very beneficial and important. Are you that guy or gal spending your valuable spare time raking leaves off your lawn during the fall?
Yah I thought so. STOP IT!
Those leaves are some of the most valuable organic materials you will ever know, free of charge. Take those leaves and use them as mulch or add them to the compost pile. There are many organic materials that can be used as mulch. You can use wood chips, straw, leaves, pine needles, compost, or grass clippings.
If you are a gardener that likes everything to look a certain way and you decide to use the colored mulch, think twice. While it is certainly fine to use this toxic dyed garbage, be aware that it will do nothing for the health of your soil and may actually harm the microbes in your soil. I like to use straw. You can see how we incorporated using straw as mulch in this video.
But, I do like to make sure that the straw has not been sprayed with herbicides, insecticides, or pesticides.
Especially if I am using the straw to mulch my garden that my family will be eating from. So, if you decide to use straw, be cautious about where it came from. It is not easy to find straw that has not been sprayed, but it is possible.
Alright I found my mulch material, but now what?
Well, it is actually very complicated to add mulch to your garden. Add a thick layer of mulch to your garden and pull it away a little from the base of the plants. Not complicated at all. You can not add too much mulch and yes it will eventually break down and begin to build your soil, which will in turn feed your plants.
I like to add a nice thick layer no less than 6 inches.
The hardest part about mulching is getting off your ass and getting it done. One important factor to note is, if you do not cover the soil mother nature will step in and make things right. What that means is that you will end up with lots of weeds. When these weeds establish themselves they can be difficult to get rid of.
You will also have to water more and have to use more fertilizers.
So, as you can tell, I am a huge advocate of using mulch in the garden. I can not share a single thing wrong with the use of mulch, as long as you are not using the wrong inputs. That is, store bought garbage that has been colored with dyes, or straw and hay that has been sprayed.
So, stay away from those two things and you will soon become a mulch master.
The next time you see a neighbor raking leaves and throwing them in the garbage, try not to smack them for being silly and ask if you can have them. They may think you are crazy for wanting their waste, but may be soon marveling at your garden from afar in the end. So, get out there and MULCH BABY!
Until next time…
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