Mulching allows you to affect the soil in your garden in different ways, depending on the choice of material. Therefore, it is important that you consider beforehand what you want to achieve by mulching your beds.
Mulch protects against weeds and drought
Why should I mulch my beds?
Bare ground isn't the most aesthetically pleasing sight, it also tends to wash away and/or wind blow the earth. This does not happen with covered beds. At the same time, mulching improves the soil and protects it from the weather. The amount of harvest can be increased by mulching and the growth of your plants is stimulated.
The benefits of mulching:
- more aesthetic than “bare” ground
- prevents soil erosion
- improves soil quality
- stimulates plant growth
- keeps the soil moist
- has a temperature-regulating effect
- increase in harvest volume
- reduces weed growth
- protects plants from frost in winter
What can I mulch my beds with?
Mulching with lawn clippings, pine bark or conventional bark mulch is quite common. Lawn clippings should dry a little before use and only be applied in one cut, otherwise there is a risk of mold. It is rich in nitrogen and potassium.
Bark mulch is often used to design easy-care beds. If it is of high quality, it smells pleasantly resinous. A sour or sulphurous smell indicates rot. You should no longer use this mulch (€239.00) as it could damage your plants. Red-brown pine bark mulch is ideal for creating garden paths.
Can I also mulch vegetable beds?
Vegetable beds can also be mulched, but choosing the right material is particularly important here. Strawberry fields are usually mulched with fresh dry straw after flowering. It keeps snails away from the plants and largely prevents the strawberries from going moldy.
You can find special mulch paper on the market. Made from cornstarch, it reduces weed growth on your vegetable patch and increases soil temperature. This increases the crop yield, especially for heat-loving plants. After the vegetable harvest, you can simply compost the film.
tips
The finer the mulch material, the thinner you should apply it so that the soil can still breathe well.