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Hi I'm Tricia, an organic gardener. I grow organically for a healthy and safe
food supply
for a clean and sustainable environment
for an enjoyable and rewarding experience
Mulch can be a gardeners best friend
as defined by the Colorado State University, mulch is any material that
provides protection
or improves the soil when applied to the soil surface
mulches serve some important purposes in the garden
they regulate soil temperature
suppress weeds
improve soil structure, reduce surface evaporation,
protects shallow rooted plants from frost heave and improves water penetration and air movement
compost is probably one of the most familiar mulching materials
and a lot of gardeners will put about an inch of compost on top of the soil and then they'll add
other types of mulching materials as well
compost can be used alone as a mulch but there's a whole world of other mulching
materials available.
There are two types of mulches available:
organic, which is plant matter
and inorganic: such as plastics
today we are going to be focusing on mulching in the vegetable garden
inorganic mulches like plastic films come in a variety of colors
and that's not for aesthetics
plants have favorite mulch colors
tomatoes, eggplants and strawberries like red
peppers favor reflective mulches
potatoes like the black mulching film.
plastic mulches
should be laid down on top of any irrigation lines
and normally will need to be replaced every season
the other category of mulches are organic mulches
these are materials that decompose
like straw, paper, bark, wood chips, grass clippings, finished compost and more
in addition to water conservation, soil temperature regulation and weed
suppression
organic marches can actually help the soil
when they decompose and make organic matter
as well as help prevent erosion
one of the misconceptions about organic mulches is that more is better and
that's not the case
you want to apply the organic mulches at the recommended depths and then
reapply as it decomposes
organic mulches should be laid down two to three inches thick for fine materials
like compost or straw
and three to four inches deep for course materials like bark or wood chips
leave one to two inches of clear space around stems and as much as six inches
of space from tree trunks
this is because the moisture that the marches hold
can cause rot around the stems and trunks.
Grass clippings can be a great mulching material
but make sure and put them down when they're dry or they could prevent
water penetration also don't use any grass clippings that been treated with an
herbicide
high carbon mulches like bark, wood chips and straw
work very well
however
as they decompose
they can pull nitrogen from the soil and that can compete
for the plants nutrients
when you add a high carbon mulch during the growing season
sprinkle a high nitrogen fertilizer such as this Compost Maker from
E.B. Stone on top of the mulch
to provide a nitrogen source for decomposition
mulching is good so mulch like you mean it and grow organic for life.