5 Important Uses of Organic Mulch for your Garden
Gardens come in different sizes and shapes. Ranging from flower gardens to vegetable gardens, they add an aesthetic appeal to your front and backyard, hence the need to take good care of them. Organic mulching is a technique of covering your soil with organic matter such as tree barks, compost, shredded leaves, and grass clippings to retain moisture while giving your garden a good aesthetic appeal.
By adding this protective layer, you're able to attain a lot of benefits. Some of the benefits are listed below.
1. Adds Organic Matter to the Soil. As compared to inorganic mulching, or just leaving your garden exposed, organic mulching adds organic matter to the soil. Organic matter decomposes with time, which acts as a source of nutrients for your flowers and other plants. This goes a long way to save on fertilizer and manure costs, as you'll have naturally formed manure. In addition, an organic garden is much healthier, making it resistant to pests and other diseases. This will in turn save you on insecticide costs.
2. Retains Moisture. By creating an organic dressing, the rate at which moisture and other nutrients will evaporate due to the scorching sun is significantly reduced. This means that your garden is able to retain water more during hot seasons, making your flowers and other plants flourish. Mulching helps save on the amount of water used for irrigation, as most of the water is retained in the soil and used to nourish your flowers and vegetables.
3. Has a Fresh and Neat Appearance. Organic mulching is available for your garden in different forms. Ranging from shredded leaves to chipped or shredded tree barks, grass clippings and compost, you may choose one that matches the design and theme of your yard. This enables you to achieve the functionality purposes of mulching while still being able to retain your garden's aesthetic appeal.
4. Suppresses Weed Growth. By forming a protective layer above your garden soil, weeds have no space to grow. When weeds grow, they compete with your plants for water and nutrients, which will in turn kill your plants in the process. Therefore, mulching acts as a very good technique for suppressing such weeds, sparing you the headache of having to weed your garden.
5. Protects Your Garden against Extreme Temperatures. During winter, direct exposure of your garden soil to snow or frozen air will cause your soil to freeze, which will have adverse effects on your plants. The same applies to direct scorching heat of the sun, which may heat up the soil, killing your plants in the process, even if they are well watered. Mulching creates a protective cover for your garden, protecting your garden against extreme weather conditions.
For effective protective covering, you need to maintain a good layer of mulch above your garden. Contact your mulch delivery service for advice on best usage practices, deliveries and costs.