Mulch, Mulch, Mulch to Save Water in Your Landscape

The need for water efficiency is becoming more and more important every day. There are many things that you can do to help your outdoor space become more water efficient.

One way is to use mulch. Mulch encourages better plant growth and development, and makes maintenance on gardens easier, providing more time to enjoy the relaxing outdoor space. The long hot days of summer will sap a lot of moisture from your soil and mulch is the one tool to help prevent moisture loss.

Mulches are not a new concept. For as long as trees have grown in forests, leaves and needles have fallen to the ground, matted together, and formed a natural protective layer over the soil. The German word molsch means "soft, beginning to decay." It undoubtedly referred to early gardeners’ use of straw, leaves, and loose earth spread on the ground to protect the roots of newly planted trees and shrubs.

There are two types of mulches: organic and inorganic. Organic mulches include wood, bark chips, straw, grass clippings, and seed hulls. Inorganic or inert mulches include crushed rock, limestone or pea gravel.

The ideal mulch does not compact readily. It does not retard water and air movement into the soil, and breaks down slowly.

Benefits of organic mulches include:

• Conserving soil moisture and increasing water penetration into the soil.
• Maintaining a uniform soil temperature by insulating the soil. Mulches keep the soil warmer during cool weather and cooler during warm weather.
• Minimizing soil erosion and compaction from heavy rains.
• Improving soil structure through decomposition from organic mulches. Mulches keep clay soil from cracking after rains. They also encourage earthworm activity and other beneficial life in the soil.
• Reducing weed problems by preventing germination of weed seeds.
• Keeping lawn mowers and string mowers away from tree trunks and surface roots.

There are certain characteristics that you should look for in good mulch:

• Economical
• Readily available
• Easy to apply and remove
• Stays in place
• Supplies organic matter to the soil
• Free of noxious weeds, insects and diseases

  Spring and fall are ideal times of the year to apply mulch to your landscape. Apply 2 to 4 inches of mulch around your landscape and your plants will reward you with beautiful foliage, colorful blooms and longer intervals between waterings.