What is mulch?
| Mulch is like magic. Mulch is anything that covers the soil to prevent moisture loss, promotes the growth on beneficial micro organisms in the soil, and improves your garden soil quality.’Mulch‘ can be almost any material applied to the top of your soil.An ‘amendment‘ is anything that is mixed into your soil – they are not the same thing!
Mulch can be anything that covers the soil, from garden cuttings, leaves, grass clippings, chopped tree trimmings, even plastic sheeting or rock. Plastic sheeting actually raises the soil temperature by 10 degrees and can sterilize the soil (known as ‘solarizing’ the soil) and is a way to control soil-borne pests and disease organisms. This is a special case, however. Most mulches are organinc in nature and will lower the temperture of the soil. They also conserve water and supress weeds. To be an effective weed prevention, mulch needs to be 4″ thick. Beside conserving water, mulch actually improves the soil beneath it. Many disease organism, like root-rots, are inhibited by mulch layers; their cell structure is also cellulose, the favorite meal of compost digesting bacteria! |
