Mulch is a garden material that gardeners will lay over the surface of the soil in their garden for a number of different reasons. They use it because it helps the soil to retain moisture and also the right kind of mulch can improve the soils condition also. In this article we look at little more closely at the way in which the mulch, Wilmington gardeners is used.
Certainly of all the things you can do as a gardener laying down mulch on exposed area of soil is extremely health for the plants that have been planted there. The use of this material around the bases of trees, shrubs and other plants in a garden can help to reduce the amount of water that is lost from the soil.
As well as preventing moisture from escaping from the soil this material when used can prevent the growth of weeds. But the mulch needs to be applied to the soils surface correctly if it is truly to be affective. If you lay too much or lay the wrong type of mulch you may end up causing more harm to your plants than you thought possible.
When it comes to the kind of mulch material to use most gardeners like to use bark, straw, leaves or sawdust for their gardens. However, although you need to spread it around the bases of the plants you should not allow it to come into contact with them. Remember the plants themselves need to get moisture, oxygen and nutrients from the soil as well.
The quality of mulch material you use in your garden should be of a very high standard. If it is badly prepared or the mulch is of the wrong (sour mulch) sort then this actually is extremely harmful to your plants. The sour mulch is a material that will contain high levels of toxins and these could have an adverse affect on your plants growth.
The amount of mulch you actually lay on your exposed Wilmington garden soil will depend on the type of material being used and what type of soil your garden has. A garden where the soil is sandy needs to have around 3 to 4 inches of mulch laid on its surface to help it retain moisture more effectively.
There are plenty of ready prepared mulch materials which you can get from your local garden center or nursery. However, if you want to save money then why not make your own instead. Grass clippings are a great mulch material although best used on vegetable rather than flower gardens as they can look somewhat messy once laid. But they are free and can be collected and then used every time you mow the lawn.
It is crucial to remember that for those of you with an organic garden then you need to use an organic variety of mulch. Again it may be worth your while actually making your own rather than spending lots of money on that which you can get from a nursery or garden center. The big benefit of using organic mulch is that it actually contains even more of the nutrients that plants need to grow healthy and strong. Much of the organic mulch, Wilmington gardeners use in their gardens is made from their own garden trimmings or from trees which have been shredded.