Beverley Boorer is a freelance writer and gardener. Her gardening and other articles are published both online and off. Need writing? Bev's writing website is at http://www.freewebs.com/write-4-you/
The first reason to mulch your garden is that it will help to conserve moisture. It is important to mulch your garden especially in the summer months. Mulching will keep the soil cool and help to keep it damp, saving you money both on your water bill and also saving your plants from dying. Cool, damp soil not only increases your plant's growth, it attracts beneficial earthworms that help to increase the soil's productivity through nutrition. Mulch itself is a form of food for plants.
Another reason to is that mulch on your garden inhibits weed growth. You are doing your plants a good turn because they won't have to fight weeds for their share of food and water. Therefore they will be much stronger and healthier. Weeds often cause diseases or pest plagues by making a home for the pest, or restricting air movement around plants and so encouraging fungal infections. You will also save yourself a lot of work weeding.
The third reason for mulching your garden is aesthetics. A garden that is mulched simply looks better than one that is not mulched. The beauty of the plants is enhanced when they don't have to compete with weeds for water and nutrition. The whole effect is more visually pleasing because in a dry time there is not dust blowing about and so you don't lose all your topsoil in the wind.
Mulches can be organic or non-organic. Organic mulches are made of those things that will gradually break down and become food for plants. It may be hay or straw. Lucerne hay provides excellent nutrition. It could be leaves collected from under trees or lawn clippings or a mixture of all these things. Pine bark is sometimes used too, or sawdust.
Non-organic mulch can be pebbles, rocks, pine chips (these are so slow to break down they are classed as non-organic), or even black plastic. Black plastic is good for keeping weeds down, but has a detrimental effect on the soil over a long period of time. It super-heats the soil, so drying it out and killing of all the beneficial micro-organisms needed for healthy soil. So do yourself and your garden a good turn by mulching.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Gardening - All About Mulching
- An Overview of Home-made Mulches
- Proper Mulching Techniques
- Pine Mulch Makes My Neighbors Jealous
- Growing Tomatoes: Should You Mulch Your Tomato Plants?
- Mulching Your Way To Better Summer Landscaping Of Your Home, Cottage Or Beach Chalet
- Mulching Improves Tree Health
- Mulching Basics
Laminate Tiles Flooring - Give Your Home a Unique and Aesthetic Look
By: Marcony Damn | 06/01/2010Something that soothes your heart and soul always make you feel better. Isn't? It makes a reason for your laughing providing you an opportunity to live your life in an easier way. Laminate tiles flooring has the potential to design your home in a unique way offering a range of positive vibes throughout the area where they are placed.
Indoor Plants To Cut Down Toxins And Clean The Air
By: Neelima Reddy | 06/01/2010Do you love breathing polluted air? Is the air present in your home pure and safe? Do you know that you can develop lung cancer by inhaling polluted and poisonous air? If you are living with a small kid or toddler, inhaling polluted air can be very hazardous to the health of the small kid.
Hydroponics, A New Kind of Indoor Gardening
By: Iris Caesar | 06/01/2010http://www.hydroponicsgroup.com Hydroponics gives you complete control over weather, nutrients and lighting meaning you get consistent, guaranteed drops.
Indoor Pest Control for Hydroponics
By: Barbara E. Volkov | 05/01/2010Indoor pest control for hydroponics is very important for a successful healthy vegetable crop. There are several types of indoor pest control products on the market but the best for hydroponic gardening is organic or those intended for hydroponics.
Growing Hyacinths Bulbs
By: Paul Kramer | 05/01/2010In order to grow hyacinths on compost, place a thin layer of grit at the bottom of your chosen container. If the container has no drainage holes, use a specially prepared indoor bulb fiber. Use ordinary potting compost or soil mix if there are adequate drainage holes in the container. Add bulb fiber or compost to within 2 inches of the rim. Plant the hyacinth bulbs with the bottom half of the bulb in compost and the top half exposed.
Growing Hyacinths on Water
By: Paul Kramer | 05/01/2010Hyacinths have been grown on water for many years, including in plain glass jars with narrow necks, and as long as you can ensure that the base of the bulb with not actually touch the water into which the roots grow, you can use almost any type of container. This includes the specially made vases that have a cup shaped compartment in which the bulb can sit securely above the water.
The Heart Of Biodynamic Gardening
By: Sutiyo Na | 05/01/2010There is a good cliché that stays that everything happens for a reason. Leaders in every part of the planet show their stuff in order bring forth a good change to certain part of society. Inventions were brought to life by genius minds in order to uplift the lives of many. Happenings such as these with great magnitude can be aptly compared to the presence of basic industrial and agricultural methods. Just like any other technique, biodynamic gardening and farming was born in order to give way...
The Path Of Biodynamic Gardening
By: Sutiyo Na | 05/01/2010The success of a certain group can be achieved in so many ways. There is passion. There is trust. And there is the need for a system. The agricultural circles abide by these principles. This is how, through the years, more and more important changes have brought forth positive results to their production. Let’s take a look at the path of biodynamic gardening and find out how its systematic and holistic approach is practiced by many of its supporters.
A Lily by Any Other Name
By: Beverley Boorer | 06/06/2006 | GardeningWhen is a lily not a lily? When it is a daylily, which is not a true lilium.