A Few Different Types of Garden Mulches Everyone Should Know

Garden mulch helps in retaining moisture in the suppress weeds, soil, prevent frost in winter, keep the soil cool, and make your garden more attractive. Garden mulch enhance the structure of the soil, nutrient-holding capacity, and drainage capacity when they decompose.

Different types of Organic Mulch:

• Shredded Leaves
• Bark, Chipped, or Shredded
• Straw
• Newspaper
• Grass Clippings

Organic mulches decompose, and you need to replace them, but in a specific manner. It enhances the structure of the soil and organic content. The woodier and dryer decomposes slower and gives fewer nutrients to the soil.

Let’s take a complete tour of different types of organic mulch.

As we listed earlier about the different types, get some more insights into the list.  

• Shredded Leaves

Nature’s favourite, shredded leaves can be used as mulch wherever you want, and you don’t even have to pay for it. It’s easy to entice earthworms to your garden soil with shredded leaves. Many gardeners don’t like leaves in their garden, and they are not appropriate for a formal location. So don’t spread the layer of shredded leaves in the spring before the plants could even spread out properly, the mulch would blend in the view in no time. Shredded leaves can be the perfect choice for woodland gardeners, and if you spread a layer on your vegetables in falls, it will start decomposing overwinters. 

• Bark, Chipped, or Shredded

This garden fertilizer is highly used around the shrubs, trees, and garden beds where you don’t do a lot of diggings, such as front foundation plantings and walkways.

The only drawback of these woody mulches is that they don’t mix well in the soil and can be a hassle to remove them from the path of new plants. However, they last longer than any fine organic mulchers.

• Straw and Hay

These are the popular mulches for vegetation in the garden. Straw and hay can easily keep the soil and soil-borne diseases from splattering on lower plant leaves and make the paths less murky. Straw decays slowly and will last the entire season when plants grow fuller. It also provides a better home to spiders and other insects that will move in and help the pest population to control. It is easy to rake them up or work right into the soil when it is time to plant a new vegetable.  

• Newspaper

This is the most popular method to mulch your garden. Newspapers have organic dyes, especially when they are black and white. Shredded newspaper can be used for the entire year to keep plant roots moist and healthy while shipping. Multiple layers of a newspaper also have good moisture retention capacity, and they act as organic mulches and surprising weeds & regulating soil temperature. They are also good for existing grass that needs a quick garden bed.   

• Grass Clippings

This is a mixed bag of goodness, best suited for remote areas of the garden where you need to overpower weeds. Grass clippings like green plant debris with extensive water content decompose quickly, and, in this process, they get slimy with unbearable odour.

Bottom line, 

So, use this garden Mulch with discretion. Grass clipping also mats down and doesn't allow water to cross.    

 

What Are The Different Types of Garden Mulches?

Are you looking for the best garden mulch?

If yes, it’s helpful first to discover their different kinds.

So explore our list of garden mulch types so that you buy only the right one.

Shredded Leaves or Wood Chips

You can find a bunch of decorative wood chips or shredded leaves form a local store to mulch your flower, garden, or shrub border. In case you are looking for an inexpensive option, contact the local tree-care facilities as they can provide you with the best mulches.

However, you can buy high quality shredded leaves and wood chips online as well.        

If you already have trees in your garden or backyard, you can find fallen leaves and create nutritional mulches yourself without spending a single penny. A lawn mower is enough to make bags of leaves mulches.

Grass Clippings

This is readily available mulch. Grass clippings can be made at home and later used as the garden fertilizer. If you have leftover grass clippings, use them for your garden or vegetable as these are rich in nitrogen and promotes better growth.   

Compost

Find another purpose for your compost. Use them as mulches. This will enrich the soil with nutrients and make the plants happy but make sure that when mulch is dry, it’s not a better place for plant roots to grow. This indicates that you have to spread a thin layer of compost and top it with other mulch like chopped leaves. This let the compost to stay damp and biologically active that provides utmost benefit for your garden fruits, flowers, and vegetables.  

Hay or Straw

If you have vegetables in the garden, cover them with straw and weed-free or salt hay. It will look clean and crisp, plus, this type of mulch retains moisture in the soil. These mulches will also prevent weed and add more organic matter to the soil. Ensure that you go for seed-free and weed-free hay. Avoid piling the mulch around the stem of the vegetable or fruit trees to avoid slug and rodent damage. 

Plastic Mulch

A sheet of black plastic film can work like magic. As it spreads over the smooth soil, the sheet allows sun heat to reach deep inside the soil, creating a 3^o warmer microclimate than the unmulched plants. The plastic sheet remains warm and dry; therefore, it protects the flowers and fruits of vining crops like melons, strawberries, and cucumber from decomposing. Also, the plastic sheet prevents weed growth & preserves soil moisture.

Land Fabrics

Landscape fabrics are the best mulches to place on your plants. They allow the air and water to reach easily around the roots of the plant and promote weeds to come up faster. However, when exposed to light, landscape fabric degrades over time. To make them last for more time, cover the fabric with a second layer of mulch.

Just like plastic mulch, keep the fabric mulch from the shrub as their roots grow up into the fabric and you will have to rip the fabric upon their removal.  

So which garden Mulch are you going to try first?