Mulch Versus Bare Earth

15 Aug '04 10:20 am

I have this debate with myself every year and the mulch wins, A:because it helps prevents weeds germinating and feeds the soil and my happy band of hard working worms.
B:because I live on a farm and have access to rotten baleage and animal manure which seems such a shame sitting there unwanted and unloved.
You might ask why do I debate the pros and cons then? The thing about mulch is that it is a double edge sword in my opinion, it covers the ground so well that I wonder how well rain and irrigation will penetrate beneath it to soak deeply enough.When I lift the mulch the soil is always nicely dark and damp but in my large border surrounded by greedy trees it is not a true indication of how much moisture is getting down to the roots of the shrubs and perennials. When I fetch a trowel or fork and have a poke often it is surface moisture only.
What do other gardeners think? Bare earth which you can water deeply but battle with weeds or mulch and hope the plants get used to less water and better soil....?
I tried removing a lot of the perennials in favour of a shrub only border but they have crept back in to fill the blank spots, (as I knew they would Smile

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17 Aug '04 8:54 am

Funny...I had thought about this in the past too.
I came to the conclusion that mulch is the best way to go. Our soil is pretty typical of the area (old cow paddocks) and it gets very dry and hard in the summer.
Without the mulch when it rains the water tends to run off so the plants (shallow rooted ones) suffer, of course, the weeds don't, they just go on to set seed Mad

The bigger trees tend to do ok.
With the mulch, I find not putting it on in huge piles (guilty), but digging or forking it into the soil a little way, so it sort of creates paths for the water to seep down into, is the way to go. The cute little worms do the rest, so helpful Very Happy

Also, I have found putting the mulch on while the soil is still naturally damp works well rather than applying it to lightly watered but dry soil.

Perennials always find their way back Wink

18 Aug '04 10:34 am

I would love to be able to use mulch but with nigh on 30 chooks and 10 ducks it only ends up scratched out all over the lawn Mad

18 Aug '04 7:18 pm

You lucky lady having all those chooks(and ducks) in your garden, clucking and crooning while they pootle about.. next to the hum of bees I love the sound of happy chooks. Yes there is a downside with the mulch flinging but you could look upon it as a compliment in as much as you know that your chooks appreciate the effort you put in to suppply them with fat juicy worms.
I am always hoping there will be a chook lurking in the background of Moosey's pics. I like the fancy breeds as they are so pretty.
Some of the roosters are so gorgeous I might wish to come back in the next life as a hen Smile

19 Aug '04 10:26 am

Hello, all. I was delighted to return to Moosey's garden after not keeping up with it for most of a year, and to discover the "new and improved" website (great job, Eggy!). Congratulations on becoming a semi-retired full time gardener, Moosey (it's my secret ambition as well). I'm a North American gardener in the northeast, that corner known as "New England," more specifically about 30 miles northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. I had no interest whatsoever in gardening until we moved to our current residence with about an acre of land. Since then I have been steadily digging up sections of the lawn.

I am decidedly in favor of mulch--the pros outweigh the cons, for me. Besides the compost from the pile, every autumn the local oaks, maples, pin cherries, and other deciduous trees on the lot donate their leaves for purposes of winter mulching. I found, however, that if the gardener is not present to rake the latter off in the spring, mass extinctions occur! Unfortunately this was the case for the past two springs--my elderly parents living on the West coast needed my presence for about one month each time. Fingers crossed for 2005. So my garden is rather sad looking this year. (However, planning the renovation is a great deal of fun)

Another problem with mulch that I have yet to solve is my somewhat weed seed-infested compost. I can't always turn the pile to keep it "hot" at the core and kill off the seeds, and if I gave up composting the weeds altogether, the pile would be much smaller. I did discover a new product to use as an anti-weed mulch: a mixture of chopped hay and straw which is then heated to kill off seeds and fungi before being bagged. As it is produced in the state of Maine, it is known as "Mainely Mulch." It's not free, but the cost per large bag is comparable to a bale of hay. If it's spread thickly enough, it does do a good job of smothering the weeds.

As far as wondering whether water reaches the soil beneath the mulch...I haven't found it to be a problem so far. Mulches like hay or bedding would still have plenty of air spaces, I should think, for the moisture to seep through. If you had something more solid such as manure, perhaps you could "aerate" it by poking holes through it with a pitchfork!

More than enough for now! I look forward to visiting again.

Mulch Versus Bare Earth

Mulch Versus Bare Earth

Chooks Rule

On mulch, and, introducing myself