Mulching for Plants - Full Guide
Mulch is known as the ‘Protector of the Soil’. Why? Here we will see all the relevant details regarding it. This post covers the entire information about mulching within 11 questions.
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What is Mulching?
Mulching is the process of covering ground surface with some external
material. The material used for performing mulching is called Mulch.
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Which period can be considered best to perform mulching?
Mulching can be performed throughout the year but mid to late spring is the
best time to mulch.
Please consider these 3 conditions:
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During summer, maintain a thin layer of mulch. Moist soil should be covered with mulch to retain its moisture in the hot environment. You can water it regularly for 2-3 months right before the rainy season
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Nearby the end of the rainy season to retain the water soaked within the soil
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During winter covering the soil with mulch is needed so that the soil will never become dry
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Why is the mulching performed?
Mulching is performed for various reasons such as;
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Retain the soil moisture
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Prevent soil erosion
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Protect the plant root from the Sun, disease and pests
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Subdue weeds (unwanted plants at a wrong place) growth
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Regulate soil temperature
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Protect the plant roots from heat, cold or drought
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Restrict the water evaporation and reduce the need for water
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Organic mulches constantly improve the soil and nourishes it with nutrients.
Which material is used for mulching?
There are 2 types of mulches; Organic and Inorganic/Synthetic.
Organic mulches are cost-effective and easily available. Organic mulches include Grass clippings, leaves, compost, wood chips/shredded bark, newspaper, pine Needles, straw and/or hay, coconut husk etc.
Inorganic/synthetic mulches include black plastic, stones etc.
How to use organic mulches?
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Grass clipping:
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Pine needles:
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Wooden chips/Shredded bark
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Leaves:
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Newspaper:
Forming a layer of newspaper sheets can be an alternative for organic mulching. Moist the sheets with water to keep in place.
Value: 4 to 8 sheets of newspaper + 1 to 3 inches of another organic mulch such as compost.
You can use the leaves for composting even. Please keep the compost moist and warm to keep the soil moisty.
Caution: In windy environments the newspaper must be briefly soaked in the water to gain weight.
Compost:
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Hay/Straw mulch:
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Apart from these peat moss, coconut husks, and sugarcane can also be used as mulching materials.
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(Image source: Wikipedia)
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6. How to use inorganic mulches?
Black Plastic Mulch:
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Stone Mulch:
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How to apply mulch?
Average value for the mulch: 3 to 4 inches (5cm to 7.5cm)
Conditions to be considered:
1. If the soil is already weeded then fix the place for your plant, cover the place with newspaper or plastic sheet and spread out the mulch on it. This
technique is called ‘Double-mulching technique’
2. If the soil is free from weeds then place a thick layer (3 to 4 inches) of mulch to prevent weed’s growth as it does not allow weeds to get sunlight
needed for their growth.
Important tips:
1. Do not mulch exactly near the trunk/ stem of the plant which can boost up the rotting of the plant roots or encourage rodents and slugs to appear.
2. Maintain the distance of at least 12 inches between the trunk and mulch.
3. The soil should be moist and weedfree (Check the conditions mentioned above and follow the steps accordingly).
4. Singled trees are easy to mulch.
5. The mulching process depends on the material you choose to mulch, The detailed explanation has been given above.
8. How to mulch potted plants?
Values: 1. Lightweight mulches like straw and hay should be thicker up to 2 inches.
2. Heavy/thicker mulching material should be single layered.
Preferably you can add mulch up to 2 inches over the soil surface.
1. Make sure the soil in the pot is moist, if not then add some water to it. On the other side the mulch has to be dry and cut into small pieces.
2. Do not mulch closer to the truck, it will invite fungus or other intruders.
3. Mulch at least 3 inches away from the trunk.
4. To get rid of slugs you can place a copper tape around the top edges of the pot.
5. Water the mulch thoroughly , a few days later the mulch will prevent water evaporation reducing need for the water.
How to water the mulched potted plant?
1. Firstly, you need to separate the mulch from the soil before watering it and place it again once done.
2. Watering without separating the mulch might lead to overwatering. The excess amount of water can cause root rot.
3. The amount of the water depends on the size of the pot and plant.
4. The pot should have a drainage hole at the bottom to make a way for excessive water.
5. Make sure while restricting the water, your plant is not drying out.
6. Same is applicable to the garden beds.
Quick Tip: Using some different techniques or tools to water the mulched potted plant/garden beds then you would not need to separate the mulch every
time such as Trickle/Drip Irrigation or Soaker Hose.
(Trickle/Drip Irrigation refers to dripping the water slowly to the roots of the plant. This is beneficial to save the water and the nutrients in the soil from getting
washed out. This system can be installed either on the soil surface or can be buried below it.)
When to remove the mulch from a potted plant?
Remove the mulch in the following conditions;
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End of the growing season
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If the mulch dried out
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If you see any kind of pests or fungus on the mulch
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If the plant has exposed to disease
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If it is cutting down the water flow going towards the root of the plants
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If you find a need to add fresh compost, fertilizers or the potting mixture
How to select the right mulch for the plants?
Selection of the mulching material depends on below mentioned factors;
Cost of the material: If the mulching material is easily available at low cost, there is no need to buy expensive ones. Organic mulches are a good choice for
cost effectiveness.
Season for the Mulching:
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During summer, maintain a thin layer of mulch. Moist soil should be covered with mulch to retain its moisture in the hot environment. You can water it regularly for 2-3 months right before the rainy season
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Nearby the end of the rainy season to retain the water soaked within the soil
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During winter covering the soil with mulch is needed so that the soil will never become dry
The crop/plant selected to mulch:
Do not combine the mulch with any material coming from diseased plant or plants conveying a high risk of infection or pests, it may affect your healthy plant.
Caution: 1. Bark must have constant contact with soil and you need to water it regularly.
2. Do not apply new bark layer until the older one has completely mixed with the soil.
3. Barks are acidic in nature and can cause pH imbalance.
Value: 2 or 3 inches
Pine needles are better to stay in place. They are non-acidic and do not break down easily.
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It will help to increase nutrient content of the soil and the soil tilth. Pine needles help to reduce soil erosion by forming a network of needles.
Caution: 1. Make sure your straws are free from weeds. Rice straws are best for this purpose.
2. Do not put them exactly near the stems. It will invite intruders like slugs, rodents and fungus.
Value: 1 or 2 inches
Mix the grass clipping with dry material like straws and leaves to avoid anaerobic decomposition and bad odours.
Using grass clippings in combination with compost will give the best results.
Grass Clippings are nitrogen heavy which reduce need for fertilizers and improves soil texture.
Caution: 1. Use dry grass clippings and do not put a thick layer of it. Putting a thick layer will make it turn
into a smelly mixture.
2. Do not use chemically treated grass.
Value: 1 or 2 inches
Bark mulches are made up of tree barks. It can be a waste material coming out from a furniture manufacturer which is being sold to gardeniary stores. The bark prepared solely for gardening purposes are also available but they are quite expensive.
Bark lasts for a long time if maintained properly. It has been placed where digging the soil is required.
Note: Bark/wood chips are good for shrubs, flower beds and garden beds but not a good choice for
vegetables.
Bark helps to hold the soil moisture, keeps weeds and pests away and helps your plant grow healthily.
Value: 2 to 3 inches for perennial beds and 3 to 4 inches for trees and shrubs.
Leaves are easily available and cheapest mulch which can be found anywhere where there are big trees around.
The fallen leaves can be cut into pieces and used as the mulch.
You can use the leaves for composting even. Please keep the compost moist and warm to keep the soil moisty.
Value: 2 to 4 inches around the plant and 10 to 12 inches outward.
If you have got some extra amount of compost you can use it as a mulch.
But remember you cannot use just a compost as a mulch, you can use it in combination with shredded leaves on top of it.
Compost constantly improves the soil. The rains help to absorb the nitrogen and carbon deeply in the soil.
It boosts up the growth of the microorganisms in the soil by breaking down and reduces the need to add fertilizers.
Caution: Never use plastic mulch for the shrubs. Plastic mulch will just kill your shrubs.
Value: 3 to 6 inches.
This kind of mulch can be used for vegetable gardens. Straws are hard and slow to break down which lasts till the entire growing season.
Hay and straws help spiders to knit their nets to act as a prevention prop for the pests and other harmful intruders. (Don’t worry about spiders they do not harm your plant)
Stone mulch is cost-effective, low maintenance mulch. It show tolerance to any climatic condition. Stones are an inflammable material and fights against weeds growth for a long time.
Stones are being used for forming good drainage systems and adjusting the requirements for additional amounts of heat.
A black plastic mulch can perform well in a vegetable garden.
Check if the surface is smooth enough to spread out the black plastic evenly and tightly. If not then you can dig out some soil and remove the elements which are causing level differences and then flatten the soil using shovel or any other prop.
Plastic mulches always remain dry and warm. It protects the fruit from rotting. It also helps to reduce weeds growth and retain the soil moisture.