What is mulch

Mulch is actually any type of material that is placed over the dirt in the garden. The material used in mulch is usually organic. The point of mulch is to help the soil keep in the moisture, stop weeds from growing, and keep the dirt from eroding.

Benefits of mulch

There are several benefits that come from using mulch. Even the best gardener is busy with other things besides just their garden and using mulch can help them save time. Weeding can take up a lot of time in the garden and mulch can help deter the weed from growing in the first place. Since the weeds do not grow because of the mulch, the gardener saves time that they would have had to use weeding their garden.

Since one of the other purposed of mulch is to help keep the soil moist, this also helps a person save time that they would have had to use watering the garden. This can also help to conserve water as well since the gardener will not have to use extra water keeping their garden and the soil moist so that the plants can grow properly.

Mulch also keeps the soil that is already in the garden enriched. Mulch helps to prevent rain from washing away the important parts of the soil.

What is mulch made out of

Mulch can be purchased from a garden center or landscaper. But mulch can easily be made at home. Leaves, grass, bark, sticks, and compost, as well as other organic material can be shredded up to create mulch. Making mulch for a person's garden can be a great alternative for them instead of throwing away all of this organic material. When a person makes their own mulch they are recycling and helping the environment.

How to make mulch

To make mulch a person should start making a mulch pile in the fall. They can rake leaves that have fallen into a pile and run over them with a mulching lawn mower. This will chop them up very well. The person should have a place set aside for their mulch pile. They can continue to add the chopped up leaves to their mulch pile throughout the fall. Gathering limbs and wood from the yard and putting them in a wood chipper can also be a good thing to do. They can add the chopped up wood to their mulch pile as well. People making mulch should make sure that the mulch does not decompose before they are able to spread it on their garden.

Factors to consider

When a person is making mulch they need to think about what types of plants they grow in their garden, how much mulch they will need to make to cover their garden, the type of soil that will be underneath the mulch and the climate where they live. All of these factors will help them make the right type of mulch.

If a person uses a more fine mulch it will decompose pretty quickly and they will soon have to spread a new layer over the garden. If a person uses a coarse mulch it will work well to keep the weeds from popping up all over the garden. For the mulch to do its job the person should make sure that there is a layer of mulch about two to four inches thick.

A person should never mix mulch and soil together. Mulch should only be placed on the top of the soil. Before a person spreads the mulch on their garden they should remove the weeds that are already there and water the soil so it is wet.