Keep your green babies healthier and happier by avoiding these common mulching mistakes.
Mulch contains a variety of materials like bark, leaves, wood chips, and other organic components—that are added to the soil—typically in flower beds, veggie patches and at the foot of bigger trees. Mulching plays a critical role in gardening—as it adds nutrients to the plants, helps them retain moisture in the soil, eliminates the growth of weeds, and secures the roots from extreme temperatures. However, if mulching is done incorrectly, it will cause more harm than benefit.
Novice gardeners understand the significance of mulching, but they may not know the correct ways of doing it. We have listed some common mulching mistakes you should avoid to protect your plants from damage.
You can mix organic compost into the topsoil to refine it but allow bark mulch to lie on the soil’s surface. Mulch—when mixed with soil—makes weeding and digging more difficult. Additionally, it can change the structure of your soil and its nutrient availability.
While mulch offers numerous benefits, too much of it can trap excess moisture at the plant roots. It can also compact and compress the soil, minimising water oxygen flow. However, you can fix this problem by taking off the extra mulch. The raked-off excess mulch can be used to fill other patches or beds as needed.
Similarly, using insufficient mulch negates the motive of mulching. Your plants will not reap the benefits of weed suppression, water retention, or root protection if adequate mulch isn’t applied. Stick to 2 to 3 inches. Add more mulch to areas that need patching after being thinned due to raking or wind.
Many novice gardeners make this mistake. Mulch materials like manure, shredded brush, or hay extracted from—pastures, streets or hayfields—may contain herbicide residues and weed seeds that can destroy your plants. Therefore, allow fresh mulch to sit for some months, leach out unwanted residue, and weed seeds to sprout and perish.
Piling up mulch around trees is called a mulch volcano. This mulch heap might seem appealing, but it will damage your trees. The dense layer of mulch piled against the bottom of a tree limits airflow and may even suffocate the roots. Excess mulch at the base also invites moisture and pests that may cause rot.
While proper mulching can smother young weeds, it cannot magically terminate well-established weeds. Therefore, it is essential to eliminate big weeds (if any) before mulching, or they will raise their heads right through.
Resist your urge to go out in the garden and mulch your plants as soon as spring arrives. Allow the soil to warm up a little before using mulch. If you mulch in early spring, the soil will still be cold, making it challenging for saplings to emerge and grow. Wait until late or at least mid-spring to mulch.
There are many different types of mulch out there, and choosing the best one for your plants can be challenging if you are a novice gardener. Each type of mulch has unique benefits and uses. You have to choose the right mulch based on the requirements of your plants. Wood chip and bark mulches are excellent for trees and flower beds, while vegetable patches need mulches made with leaves, grass clippings, and hay.
If you can avoid making these common mistakes, expect your garden to flourish as expected.
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