by Katie-Ellen

Created on: April 14, 2011   Last Updated: April 29, 2012

Laying mulch around your plants and spread over bare earth will, over time, feed your soil and encourage earth worm activity. If you  are growing fruit and vegetables, it will raise the nutrition quality of both your soil and harvest. Mulch helps to keep the soil and roots at a more even temperature.while promoting micro-organisms in the soil. There are a variety of mulches available, depending on which one suits your garden needs the best.

• Why mulch your garden

The most vital reasonto mulch your garden is to conserve water, especially in areas of hot dry summers that experience drought conditions. Mulching can reduce water requirements by up to 60%. The second reason is it prevents exposing the soil to extreme temperature changes, which can be a setback for plants. Mulch keeps the soil moist and promotes a healthier growing medium as it breaks down and feeds extra nutrients into the soil below. Thick mulch prevents weed growth and their seeds germinating, which competes with your plants for moisture and nutrition.

•  Inorganic mulches

Inorganic mulches are popular as part of contemporary landscaping designs. Some of the inorganic mulches available are bark chips, scoria, gravel and pebbles. The advantages of the bark chip mulches are that they break down and allow water penetration through rainfall and irrigation systems compared to mulching with gravel and pebbles. Insects use natural mulches as their habitat and are part of the chain of biodiversity in your garden.

• Layering of mulch

The straw and hay mulches are cut at different stages of crop growth. The most common and readily available mulch is peastraw. It cpmes in large bales or compressed into blocks, which fluffs up to cover an area when released from its packaging.

The packaged pea straw available from hardware stores is ideal for spreading over pot surfaces because it is finer and has been cut. Birds also love to flick it about but this is prevented by bordering your mulched area with low growing plants or hedges.

• Beneficial mulches for a compost heap or worm farm

A few specific organic materials are ideal in a compost heap or worm farm. They are leaf mulches, grass clippings and any light leafy soft prunings you have. They break down quickly and naturally in these systems.

Compost is best used under mulches rather than as mulch itself. Using mulch in the garden is an easy resource because it offers such important value to the structure of the soil and in protecting plants. How you make the most of mulches depends on your gardening needs. It is good to mix the mulches together if you have them. This provides a lighter yet thick covering for your plants, making natural water penetration more accessible.

Learn more about this author, Katie-Ellen.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.