Simply put, mulch is a layer of organic or synthetic material which is laid on top of your garden soil. This top layer is designed to help the soil hold moisture longer, prevent soil from eroding, prevent the soil from fluctuating in temperature too drastically, and prevent weeds from easily being able to grow around your plants.
Mulch is usually light enough to allow plenty of water and air to get through it to the roots of your plants, but it’s also dense enough to prevent weeds from being able to grow easily. Organic mulch deteriorates over time too, and this has an additional effect of adding nutrients, minerals, and vitamins to the soil around your plants too.
Organic mulch usually comes from some type of plant material such as leaves, grass clippings, wood bark, or straw. Mineral type mulches can be used too though, and these usually come from some type of stone, gravel, or other small rocks. There are also plenty of synthetic mulches available too, and these can be made from a variety of materials such as plastic or rubber. Many synthetic mulches are made from recycled materials, and they can last for quite a long time.
Organic and mineral type mulches will often help keep the soil beneath them cooler, and synthetic mulches tend to help the soil warm up. Organic mulch will of course degrade and decompose over time, so it has to be added to regularly. Mineral mulches can last several lifetimes, and some types of synthetic mulches can too.
Any type of natural material which decomposes on its own can be used as a mulch material. Some of the most popular include grass clippings, hay, tree leaves, wood chips, and straw. It helps to create thick layers of mulch when you’re using organic materials, because the thicker layers help protect your plants from weeds and weather better. Thicker layers will also pack down a bit better, and not be lost or scattered with any little breeze that comes along.
One of the best reasons to use mulch around your plants is for weather protection. If you put a nice deep layer of mulch around the base of tender plants before winter sets in for instance, that mulch will often allow the roots to stay alive even when it gets quite cold outside. And when the roots of your plants can survive through the winter, you’ll be able to enjoy the plant when it starts budding naturally the following spring.
The other major advantage to mulching is, when done correctly, you’ll find yourself fighting weeds much less often in your garden.
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