Mulches Aren't Mulches - Written by Dan Willmann
Posted on Friday 4th September 2015
Mulches Aren’t Mulches - Spring 2015
As the weather is heating up you should be thinking about mulching your garden.
The next question you may ask is ‘what is the best mulch for my garden?’ or even ‘which mulch is the best value for money? Most people know what mulch is but there is a lot to know about the reasons for mulching and the different types of mulches.
There are five important reasons to mulch. The first, and probably the most important, is for water conservation. Mulch stops the top of the soil drying out, keeps the soil moist, and can reduce watering by up to 75 per cent. Mulching also prevents weeds and weed seed germination, which compete with plants for moisture and nutrients. Mulching keeps the soil temperature constant, and using an organic mulch means you’re adding extra organic matter to the soil; so that's an added benefit. Lastly, mulching looks good. A garden well mulched can create consistent colour and coverage to what was bare ground.
The different types of mulch can be split into two categories; decorative and feeder mulches.
Decorative mulches are generally for aesthetics only. They can be organic; like pine bark and coloured wood chips. Alternatively they can be inorganic like stones and rubber. The majority of these mulches have no benefit to soil health and often fail to conserve water. Besides their looks, one advantage to these mulches is they generally take longer to break down, saving cost and labour. A disadvantage with organic decorative mulches is that during the natural decomposition of woody materials, soluble nitrogen is taken from the mulch by fungi and bacteria. This causes something called nitrogen drawdown, but it can be overcome by applying a balanced organic fertiliser prior to mulching.
A recommendation of decorative mulch would be tea tree mulch. It presents well, smells wonderful, lasts 1-2 years in the garden and as it breaks down has a slight benefit to the soil.
Feeder mulches as the name suggests add nutrition and improve soil as they break down. They are generally organic; like sugar cane mulch, lucerne and other straw mulches. These mulches can be aesthetically pleasing, yet are lighter coloured, and absorb and hold onto moisture. They add beneficial organic matter to the soil and promote active biology like earth worms. Long term use of these mulches increases soil fertility, markedly improves soil composition and reduces fertiliser dependence.
Some recommendations of feeder mulches would be lucerne and sugar cane mulch. Along with what was discussed above, lucerne can add considerable amounts of nitrogen and potassium to soil as it breaks down. A disadvantage is often price and susceptibility of unwanted weeds and lucerne growing through your mulch.
Sugar cane mulch is probably the best all-rounder. It doesn’t add the same nutrient levels as lucerne but leaves some money in your wallet to buy organic fertiliser to add underneath your mulch. It does everything great feeder mulches should but stands out by inhibiting erosion and being clean and free from unwanted weeds and seeds. High quality packaged sugar cane mulch is certified for organic farm input; an absolute necessity for the organic grower.
This spring, match your mulch to your garden and see it flourish. For information about mulching see the friendly staff at Farmcraft and take a look at www.rpmulching.com.au
Written by Dan Willmann
Rocky Point Mulching
