Mulch - The Lazy Gardener’s Compost

Mulch your garden and get all the benefits of composting and more, with lots less work. A 2 to 3 inch layer of any material that is not toxic to the plants will help you grow better vegetables with less effort. Let’s discuss some of the benefits.

• Conserves soil moisture, reducing frequency and amount of water needed.
• Prevents weed germination, reducing weeding and competition for nutrients.
• Insulates soil and moderates soil temperature. Apply in early spring for cool season veggies and after soil warms for heat lovers.
• Protects fruit and vegetables from soil contact, which could cause rotting and disease.
• Protects soil from compaction or erosion in heavy rains or irrigation.
• Absorbs and retains nutrients that might otherwise leach below the root zones.
• Keeps your feet clean while working in the garden, even when wet.
• Makes your garden more attractive.
• Organic mulches add soil nutrients as they decompose.

Available materials include both inorganic and organic materials. All of them will provide most of the benefits above, but if you want to get the best from your mulch, use an organic that will slowly break down, adding organic matter and plant nutrients to your soil.

This truly is the lazy gardeners compost plan. Your organic litter will begin decomposing from the bottom, at the point of soil contact, as soil microbes , soil animals and worms feed on it. That releases soil nutrients into that top layer of the soil – all the benefits of compost without the constant turning and moving, together with the other advantages listed above.

Of course, compost makes the best mulch, but partially decomposed matter works fine. Even fresh grass clipping, fall leaves or prunings run through a compost shredder are all excellent materials.

If you must import material, choose those that are readily available in your area for cheap or free. You can buy bagged products at the garden center that are excellent, but expensive.

Your locality will have agricultural waste products that are plentiful and cheap. These may include, cocoa or pecan shells in the south, ground corn cobs in the corn belt, rice hulls where rice is grown, or bark and wood chips where forest products are milled.

Here is a list of materials, both organic and inorganic, to choose from, some of which may be free in your community:

Organic

• Grass clippings – unless recently treated with herbicides.
• Leaves- can usually be collected at the curb.
• Straw- (not hay, which must first be composted to eliminate weed seed).
• Shredded bark or bark nuggets.
• Pine needles or pine straw.
• Peat or sphagnum moss.
• Wood chips or sawdust.
• Shredded newspaper or cardboard.

• Black plastic sheeting works, but creates an environmental disposal problem.
• Organic biodegradable sheeting is a better solution.
• Rubber mulch made from recycled tire rubber.
• Rock and gravel can absorb heat and extend the season in the north.

Rubber and rock don’t decompose, so they don’t have to be replaced – a big labor savings. But, they shouldn’t be tilled in, so their permanence makes them a better choice under perennials, shrubs or trees.

Material with a low ph, such as pine needles, peat or oak leaves will require liming for most vegetables. But, these might be ideal for crops like potatoes or blueberries that prefer a lower soil ph .

Matter that decomposes quickly, like grass clippings or sawdust, might need a little added nitrogen fertilizer to offset the initial nitrogen drain as they break down. Once decayed, they will put back that nitrogen.

Mulch is an all around win for the lazy gardener, and for us garden gnomes, it helps insulate our burrows beneath your garden. I highly recommend it.

Happy gardening,

Geefrank

Compare mulch to compost

Why you should add organic matter to your soil

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