ORGANIC MULCHING | HomesNGardens

Cost-Effective Organic Mulching for the Plants

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.

What is Mulching?

Mulching is the process of covering ground surface with some external

material. The material used for performing mulching is called Mulch.

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:

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
Nearby the end of the rainy season to retain the water soaked within the soil
During winter covering the soil with mulch is needed so that the soil will never become dry

Why is the mulching performed?

Mulching is performed for various reasons such as;

Retain the soil moisture
Prevent soil erosion
Protect the plant root from the Sun, disease and pests
Subdue weeds (unwanted plants at a wrong place) growth
Regulate soil temperature
Protect the plant roots from heat, cold or drought
Restrict the water evaporation and reduce the need for water
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?

Grass clipping:

Pine needles:

Wooden chips/Shredded bark

Leaves:

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:

Hay/Straw mulch:

Apart from these peat moss, coconut husks, and sugarcane can also be used as mulching materials.

(Image source: Wikipedia)

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.

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 reduces 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.

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)