Mulching is a very popular term for gardeners. Different organic mulches are the best for your vegetable garden. Organic mulches come with a natural boost to the plant’s health, growth, and reproduction.
So, what mulch is, and why are they important?
What is mulch?
Mulch is a decomposed, half-decomposed, or undecomposed substance that basically covers the soil. It protects and enriches the soil with essential nutrients.
So you can see, mulching is a fundamental step if you want to,
- increase the moisture content in your soil
- prevent harmful weeds
- Keep the soil temperature balanced
- Provide your tender plants with a nourishing environment
Types of mulches
There are two types of mulches based on their decomposition capability. These are:
- Organic mulch: Organic mulches are simply decomposable materials. Some of the organic mulches include grass, dry leaves, straw, the bark of trees, powdery wood (sawdust), etc. When these materials fall on the soil surface, they degrade easily in a variety of ways.
As organic mulches degrade, essential nutrients and other organic materials get released from them. Those released substances get mixed with the soil. Thus organic mulches contribute to creating a nutrient-rich environment within the soil.
- Inorganic mulch: Inorganic mulches are the exact opposite of organic mulches. You can already guess that the non-decomposable materials are called inorganic mulches. Well, half of the decomposable materials are also included in this type. Some examples are stones, pebbles, plastics, etc.
Inorganic mulches play some vital roles in the improvement of soil. They protect soil from erosion, and evaporation, and help in reducing harmful weeds.
The best mulch for your vegetable garden
One line answer is that different organic mulches are the best for your vegetable garden.
You can use dry leaves, bark, grass clippings, straw, paper, etc. You can also use any other item which you know is decomposable.
Well, these organic mulches will significantly improve the soil condition of your garden and in turn your delicate vegetable plants. Organic mulches will take care of the temperature, humidity, ventilation, water absorption, and amount of nutrients in your soil. Consequently, you will get rich nutritious soil.
Now the happy part is that as soon as your soil becomes highly nutritive, your job is done. This soil will make your vegetable plants grow happily and flourish more and more.
5 Benefits of mulching in the garden
Mulching can bear a hugely beneficial impact on your garden. Let’s get to know them!
- Nutrient preservation: Various harmful weeds absorb nutrients from the soil. Mulches create a barrier between soil and those weeds. As a result, nutrient absorption can not be carried out by weeds. Thus mulches play an essential role in preserving necessary nutrients within the soil.
- Increase Soil moisture: As mulches are basically a covering of soil, they protect the contents of the soil. Water is one of the chief constituents of soil. Mulches prevent water evaporation from the soil. Thus mulches ensure that their inhabiting soil is carrying enough water and an optimum moisture level.
- Control pests: Mulches are able to significantly control pests. This is because the mulching layer on your gardening soil will not let pass nutrients to harmful pests. So, pests will not be able to survive for long and die!
- Improve soil condition: The mulching layer will surely heal and improve the soil condition of your garden. Mulches will improve the nutrient content, water retaining capacity, and humidity level of your soil.
- Maintain Optimum temperature: Mulches work on creating pores over the soil. Those pores take part in the air and temperature movement of your gardening soil. In this way, an optimum temperature condition is maintained by mulches.
