Mulch

Mulch

Although all of the seven basic principles of gardening are important and will greatly enhance your gardening success, the easiest to implement is to use mulch. Mulch is material placed over the soil – beds, borders, vegetable gardens, even lawns -- that help preserve moisture, improve soil structure and quality, and moderate temperature. Improve your mulching practices and enhance your landscape, avoiding some mulching pitfalls at the same time.

Organic Mulch

Organic mulch is recommended for most medium and high water-use beds or borders. Organic mulch, used in conjunction with an under-mulch drip irrigation system, is highly beneficial to plants and soil life. This section is loaded with tips and guidelines to help your plants and soil reap the most benefits.

Inorganic Mulch

Inorganic mulches provide many benefits to the garden and landscape. Inorganic mulches are crushed gravel and granite, river rock or small stones, lava or granite rock, decorative and colored stones, sand, crushed brick, crushed graded recycled glass, landscape fabric sometimes referred to as geo-textiles, plastic mulch, and aluminized mulch. Here are a few tips and guidelines.

Much More on Mulch

Some information about mulch pertains to both organic and inorganic mulch, having to do with either general or specific usage; I’ve included it here. I hope you will read the insights and cautions involving mulch. In some instances, what is done with mulch can damage plants and landscape as well. This page also includes a section on how to extend the cold hardiness zone and growing season with mulch. I also briefly explain how mulch conserves water and helps to moderate the extremes of climate and soil.

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