Winter has finally hit Western North Carolina with all the snow we received this past week. After a brief stint of spring weather several weeks ago and some trees and plants going to bud, no one knew for sure when winter weather would arrive and then it did so in full force. Many of the surrounding areas got up to a foot of snow, and some even more in the higher elevations.
Now that we can confidently say that it’s winter, we wanted to talk about mulch and how mulching can prepare your garden beds for a healthy and bountiful planting season.
Keep reading below to learn more about the benefits of mulching!
Mulching is traditionally done in the fall while the microorganisms that work are still active, warm, and need protection and the frost causes plants to go dormant, but there are benefits to it even if you’re a little late in the season. Some of the benefits of mulching is to help protect delicate plant, tree, and shrub roots from freezing when the temps dip, as well as help pave the way for healthy soil come spring when you’re ready to start seeds and planting crops or flowers. Another benefit of mulching is that it can help your landscape and garden beds look more polished and refined, making them more pleasing to the eye, as well as help prevent pests such as weeds and help plants retain moisture during drier times, such as in the winter when there is typically less rain.
Now that we’ve discussed some of the benefits, lets dive in and see what types of mulch we should use, as well as general guidelines as to when to mulch, how much mulch to use, and common problems that can arise from over or under mulching.
Types of organic mulch that can amend, improve, and condition the soil:
• Wood or bark mulch
• Pine needles
• Straw
• Grass clippings
• Sawdust
• Paper
• Leaves
• Compost
Types of inorganic mulch that will offer protection from the elements but won’t give back to the soil and improve it:
• Landscape fabric
• Black plastic or geotextiles (often seen in fields where crops are planted to help prevent weeds and pests and keep heat loving plants such as tomatoes and peppers warm)
• Rocks or pebbles
• Rubber shavings
What you choose to use as your mulch medium will depend on a variety of things, such as your budget, your aesthetic preferences, and your mulching goals.
How to Mulch:
The process of mulching is quite simple and straightforward. You essentially are just placing your chosen materials from the list above, and layering it neatly over the bases of your precious plants, trees, shrubs, etc.
A generally recommended amount is between 2-4 inches, depending on where your garden beds are located in your yard as weeds have different growing needs just like everything else. In areas of your yard that may be more shaded, 2 inches will typically suffice, whereas the sunnier areas may need 4 inches or a “double” mulching process that includes using two different mulching materials (newspaper layered with wood chips for example) for additional protection.
If you have flowers or other delicate plants, keep an eye on how much mulch you use, as too much mulch that retains moisture such as wood chips, can cause the stems and leaves of flowers to rot and invite a multitude of pests if you aren’t mindful. This is another reason why it’s important to not mulch more than a few inches unless absolutely necessary. For deep mulch, such as what you may need for larger trees or shrubs, try to keep the mulch pulled back 6 to 12 inches from the trunks to discourage pests as well.
Remember that if you overdo mulch or you don’t mulch enough that issues can arise.
Some of those issues are:
• Too much: can cause rot, invite pests, or restrict plant growth.
• Too little: can cause more weeds to spring up, can cause plants to dry out too quickly, can leave plants susceptible to fluctuating temperatures and harm delicate roots, and be overtaken by plants you don’t want in your garden.
To learn more about the benefits of mulching,click here, or here!