Mar 22 2008
When Your Landscape Supplies Mulch For You
When using mulch in your yard, watch out for slime mold known as fuligo septican. In warm, humid environments, this mold can grow on top of your mulch creating a bright yellow mass. Although it’s harmless, you’ll need to loosen up your mulch with a rake in order for it to dry out. Sound bad? Then keep reading to learn more about choosing the right mulch to buy unless your landscape supplies mulch for you!
When choosing the right cover for your soil, you should always consider the fact that your landscape supplies mulch already. This mulch is natural and has less chances of introducing more maintenance in your garden. There are numerous advantages when your landscape supplies mulch for you to use in your garden such as it is free of chemicals and is in its natural environment. If you hate pulling weeds and want to help insulate your plants to keep in more moisture, mulching helps thwart the growth of unwanted weeds while costing you nothing!
As mulch degrades overtime it will help to enrich your soil by mixing its organic matter with the soil already in place. When your landscape supplies mulch you are introducing many badly needed nutrients into the soil that will eventually help your plants blossom. If you are using store bought mulch, it still can be worked in but you should read up on the specific type to see if it is better to rake up the mulch and dispose of it instead. Allowing the mulch to break down over time in the soil will provide important nutrients for your plants and will help the soil to retain moisture.
Because mulch does break down over time you’ll need to re-mulch your beds yearly for the optimum results. As you can see, this is a yearly expense and could become costly depending on the size of your garden. When your landscape supplies mulch it is usually in the form of grass clippings, fallen leaves or other natural resources that can be put to work in your garden. These will be there year after year for you and again, cost you nothing! These are some easy ways to help protect your plants from the summer rays.
If you’d like to dress up the look of your mulch, try adding edging around your mulched area. When choosing edging, look to see if your landscape supplies rock to achieve a natural look for your garden.
Different Types of Mulch
Rubber Mulch: If you’re interested in the many useful advantages of mulch but don’t want to deal with the yearly maintenance, try using rubber mulch. This product is good for several years as it doesn’t break down but as a result your soil is not gathering any extra enrichment from it.
Wood Chips: A few popular wood chip varieties include cedar, cypress, and pine. This is also the most popular type of mulch.
Shredded Wood: If you chose not to use a form of edging in your garden you may want to use shredded wood mulch for your beds. The texture of this variety helps the mulch stay in place. It will also help to prevent your mulch washing away in a rain storm or during a watering. Shredded wood mulch breaks down much quicker than wood chip mulch.
Straw: While straw isn’t the most attractive form of mulch available, it breaks down quickly and will provide your soil with more organic nutrients. Also, your landscape supplies mulch in this format year after year.
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