Mulching – To till or not to till. 

Hello again, Urban gardeners.
In the article on soil, I had mentioned that mulching is my favorite gardening method. Let us get into the details of why it is so?

How we gave up on digging

When we started cultivating the small land in our backyard, we thought digging was the norm. The neighbors were digging, so we started digging. However, those who have done so know that this is a back breaking task :). To make things worse the weeds don’t seem to care about the effort you have put on. It is their birthright to grow full force after every light rain. And so, the battle begins all over again.

The first year we grew our vegetables quite conventionally, and I only dreamed of gardening without digging. That is when the research began and I found information about mulching. That was a stepping stone to what we have achieved today.
You are already aware that mulching is the covering of the soil around plants with organic or inorganic materials. However, we decided to mulch the whole garden. The reason? The soil in our garden is heavy clay. This in itself is not a bad thing. Clay soils have both advantages and disadvantages. Clay gives the soil low permeability, high water retention and nutrient storage capacity. At the same time, however, it impedes the circulation of water and air. It is compact and when it dries, it hardens and cracks. This makes its processing very difficult.

What does mulching do for our garden?

As mentioned before, it helps the plants in the garden by providing them with more moisture. At the same time it protects them from sudden temperature fluctuations. Mulching plays another very important role – it enriches the soil and promotes underground life. When it decomposes, organic mulch introduces a variety of nutrients into the soil. In our garden, mulching also helps improve the structure of clay soil.

Our pets – worms

Worms are highly respected in my family and are our top helpers in the garden. They love to stay hydrated, moist, and protected under the mulch. The more mulch I put in, the more worms are seen in the garden. The burrows they make help in aerating the soil and increase its water permeability. This prevents water logging on the surface and also prevents it from flowing away too quickly. The excrement they leave after eating organic leftovers is one of the most valuable gifts for the gardener. Better known as biohumus, their waste is actually the best natural fertilizer for the soil. It is full of valuable trace elements, amino acids and beneficial microorganisms.

Mulch – help for lazy gardeners

The benefit of mulching, which is most beneficial for me personally, is the fact that I stopped using diggers and tilling machines. The point of digging is to make the soil loose. So that plant roots, water and air can penetrate more easily. It improves the ability of the soil to absorb and retain water, and facilitates the penetration of moisture into the depths. At the same time Improving aeration and managing thermal fluctuations of the soil. Does it sound familiar to you? For me the combined forces of worms and organic mulch does this. You can say, I outsourced this activity, completely free of charge. 🙂

Let’s work smart, not a lot

If you remember, permaculture advises us to repeat and replicate natural processes. To do this, we can learn to work smart, not hard. Think about it – have you ever seen someone digging and weeding a forest? Our grandparents always used to emphasize that forest soil is the most fertile and rich. When we leave nature alone, it does what it can do the best – it creates a complete cycle of life, regulates and balances every ecosystem.

What about the weeds?

Lets understand, I will use the word weed conditionally. In practice, this negative definition has been imposed by us. Because some plants are in a strong competition with the crops we grow. For gardeners weeds are plants that they have not planted themselves. Today, however, we are beginning to understand how important each element of a system is. And how useful many plants can be, which we previously considered unnecessary and impudent grass.
Mulch can help you even if you are one of those people who like their garden to be clean of grass and is tidy. A thick layer of soil actually stops the access of weed seeds to sunlight and drastically limits their growth. You must have seen how yellow and weak a stalk of grass looks, when it tries to grow under a stone or under a forgotten piece of plastic. This is what every mulch does, as long as it is dense enough. It hinders and slows down the development of plants under it. Result? – it saves you a lot of weeding.

Types of mulch – organic and inorganic

What can you use as mulch?
Organic mulch is composed of natural substances. You can use bark, sawdust, peat, leaves, pine needles, straw, dried mown grass, walnut shells, paper or cardboard. This type of mulch decomposes over time and should be supplemented periodically. Keep in mind that pine bark or needles are suitable mainly for plants with a preference for acidic soil.
As inorganic mulch you can use gravel or decorative stones (not suitable for plants that prefer acidic soils), nylon, geotextiles or other artificial materials. If you choose this option, we recommend the use of geotextile, because it does not prevent the penetration of water and air into the soil, and does not affect the pH of the soil.

When to mulch

For gardens that are outdoors, mulching is best done in late fall or spring, after the soil has warmed up, but before it has begun to lose moisture. Plants that are in pots at home can be mulched at any time.
Additional advice: When applying mulch, do not press it tightly to the trunk of the plant, leave a few inches free so as not to hinder its growth.
That is, you already know how to mulch!

Next time I will touch on a very interesting topic – how plants interact. Which plants help each other in growth, and ones that are not beneficial. This information is important for small home gardens, where space should be used to the maximum.
See you soon! And do not forget – He who creates a garden, cultivates happiness!