Mulch for Gardening Success: Best Garden Mulch
Ever wonder about adding mulch for gardening success? Mulch makes the gardening adventure so much easier…….it helps retain soil moisture while suppressing weeds.
We have learned a lot about using mulch for gardening success!
One method that a lot of people are using is the “The Back to Eden“ method of mulching with wood chips made from whole trees, limbs and branches to create Ramial Wood Chips.
This video is extremely helpful in explaining the need to protect and enrich the soil environment in order to grow beautiful and nutritious fruits and vegetables.
Plus, this video is so helpful in explaining the relative ease of gardening when using mulch.
Once you establish the proper growing environment with regard to soil nutrients and soil moisture content, everything just grows better.
Mulch for Gardening Success
Due to our rural location, we do not have tree branch mulch available so we needed to buy a chipper / shredder in order to make our own mulch.
We purchased a BRUSH MASTER Chipper Shredder for our garden mulcher and it has worked out just great!!!
We have had a very good experience with this particular Chipper Shredder which is why we recommend it.
Having our own chipper shredder also enabled us to do extensive yard and land clean up by chipping all the extra limbs, branches and small trees that we have been clearing out.
We have used our Brush Master chipper for many hours and it still runs well.
The chipper blades need to be sharpened periodically as listed in the instructions. Just remove the blades as indicated and sharpen as needed.
Rent or Buy a Wood Chipper
You may be able to locate wood chips in your local area but if you are unable to you should consider purchasing your own chipper / shredder for your homestead.
This is also another way to earn income by taking your chipper and renting it out.
We would advise that you be the sole operator of your chipper so you would hire yourself out along with the chipper.
Remember to wear ear and eye protection at all times while operating this chipper / shredder.
Here is a load of small green trees, green branches and green limbs with leaves, that we started chipping.
We built a wooden bin and a small ramp (as shown in the first photo) to hold the ramial wood chips.
The Brush Master Chipper Shredder comes with a bag to catch the wood chips but we had so many trees, limbs and branches that we decided a wooden bin would work out better for us.
This is a close up photo of the ramial wood chips. You can see all the green from the leaves and stems that have been chipped along with the bark.
We then loaded the ramial wood chips into a wheelbarrow and spread them throughout the garden.
If we had heavy grass or turf to go over, we first spread of layer of newspaper or cardboard to help with weed suppression and then put down the wood chips.
We spread the wood chips about 2″ to 3″ thick as shown around our onion plants.
Pull the wood chips away to expose the dirt to ensure the seeds and bulbs are planted and covered with dirt.
The soil needs to “breathe” so do not make your mulch too thick. This is especially true with denser clay type soils.
Special Note: Always make sure to plant your seeds, bulbs or sets directly in the dirt. This is very important.
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See the Back to Eden video link here: The Back to Eden Garden Mulch Video
The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner:
What to Do & When to Do It in the Garden, Orchard, Barn, Pasture & Equipment Shed
Here are the first potato plants peeking through the wood chips………
It is amazing to see the difference in the soil moisture content from where there are wood chips as opposed to the walkways without wood chips.
If you have enough wood chips then spread some in the walkways to keep them from becoming muddy. This makes for nice pathways.
Related Post: Watering with an Electric Pump
Want to see one the best sprinklers ever? Take a look at this: Hi-Rise Lifetime Sprinkler
So the end results were impressive……We had some huge potatoes.
Not all our spuds were this huge but we did have some that were quite noteworthy!!!
We have also grown Yukon Gold, Blue Adirondack, Purple Majesty and Colorado Rose potatoes with equal success.
This type of mulching helps in many ways and is extremely beneficial when growing potatoes.
The mulch for gardening success application protects the soil, increases soil organisms which encourages worm populations, provides a healthy environment for root development, all of which make for strong, healthy garden productivity.
One final thought: make sure to follow the method of using all greens, green branches and green limbs with the leaves and NOT dead branches or limbs.
We made the mistake of not using just green limbs with the bark and had a nitrogen problem with some stunted plant growth.
I added a natural Alaska Fish Emulsion Fertilizer 5-1-1 Concentrate 1 Gallon to boost the nitrogen in the soil and that helped tremendously.
If using dried wood chips or bark, just make sure they have started to rot or decompose.
If these wood chips or bark have not started to rot, they will draw nitrogen away from the soil causing your planted to become nitrogen depleted.
Lesson Learned:
One other thing to keep in mind if you decide to use the back to Eden approach with Ramial wood chips is your location.
We live in high desert environment.
We did not take this into consideration when starting with this method.
The wood chips did not break down as fast as we thought they would due to the fact we have such a short growing season and are relatively semi-arid.
The whole idea of making our own chips and mulch was still extremely beneficial.
We used these wood chips in the garden and as a mulch around bedding plants and shrubs.
It was just that they did not break down as fast as we had hoped.
The ramial wood chips work great in areas with longer growing seasons where things decay and breakdown much faster.
Related Post: Lettuces and Greens in your new garden!!
Various Mulching Materials
Grass Clippings
Grass clippings are a popular and efficient mulching material for your lawn. These clippings break down quickly and provide your lawn with valuable nutrients.
Straw
Straw is another excellent mulching material that can be used in both your lawn and garden. It’s lightweight, easy to spread, and can provide a good layer of insulation for plant roots, thus helping to maintain a stable soil temperature.
However, straw may contain some weed seeds, so make sure to source weed-free straw for mulching purposes.
Wood Chips
These chips are a highly versatile and long-lasting mulching material. Wood chips help insulate the soil, retain moisture, and suppress weed growth and are great around trees, shrubs and in flower beds.
As they break down over time, they release nutrients back into the soil, enhancing its overall quality 3. Be cautious, though: using fresh wood chips may temporarily pull nitrogen from the soil, so it’s better to use aged or composted wood chips for mulching purposes.
Cardboard
Cardboard is an eco-friendly mulching option that can help suppress weeds while retaining moisture and regulating soil temperature. Lay down overlapping sheets on your garden beds, leaving gaps for plant stems and watering access.
To improve aesthetics and speed up the decomposition process, you can also cover the cardboard with a thin layer of another mulching material, such as straw or grass clippings.
Pine Needles
Pine needles, also known as pine straw, are a lightweight and aesthetically pleasing mulching option, often used in landscaping around trees and shrubs.
These are pretty pokey so do not put pine needles were you will be planting and working.
Regardless, pine needles can help insulate the soil and retain moisture while allowing water and air to penetrate easily. They typically last for around 2 to 4 years before needing replenishment 4.
Pine needles can cause the soil to become more acid so keep an eye on that.
Mulching Tomatoes and Vegetables
Mulching your tomato and vegetable plants can improve soil health and moisture retention, leading to better yields in your garden.
Here are some tips on mulching tomatoes and vegetable plants:
For tomatoes, use organic mulch like straw or grass clippings to help conserve moisture and regulate soil temperature. This can help prevent common issues like blossom-end rot.
For vegetable plants, opt for an organic mulch like compost or well-rotted manure that can enrich the soil over time.
Remember, when mulching your tomatoes and vegetables, apply a layer that is several inches deep to maximize moisture retention and weed prevention.
By using advanced grass mulching applications in your landscape, trees, and vegetable plants, you can create a healthier garden and reduce maintenance in the long run.
Enjoy the benefits of mulching throughout your outdoor space!
Quick Tip to Getting Free Earthworms:
After it rains, when the earthworms come to surface (so they do not drown) gather them up from the grass, sidewalk or driveway and put them into your garden. These worms will go to work for you right away.
If you do not help them get back into the garden soil or lawn, they will be snatched up by hungry robins or simply die when the sun comes out.
Might as well help them out a bit….it is a win-win for both you and them! You will be amazed at how fast they multiple!!
Completely Suppress Weeds in Flower Beds
If you need to completely suppress the weeds in areas that you are not planting, then consider buying some of Weed fabric then cover with a lighter amount of mulch.
Only use weed cloth in areas that will not be continually be tilled and planted.
Weed cloth completely covers the soils and does not allow the mulch to breakdown and fortify the dirt underneath.
Gardener’s cloth has its place in landscaping. But it is not the covering to use for vegetables and gardens where you will be planting or tilling.
That’s a Wrap…..
In conclusion, mulch proves to be such a valuable tool for any gardener. The points are that it ot only does helps retain moisture in the soil, but it also suppresses weed growth and adds essential nutrients to the ground over time.
Utilizing mulch can reduce the need for constant watering and weeding, making gardening an easier and more enjoyable experience overall.
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, incorporating mulch into your gardening routine is a wise choice that will pay off in the long run.
So, next time you’re tending to your garden, consider giving it a layer of mulch – your plants (and back) will thank you!
If direct sowing onion seeds, would you wait for the onions to sprout before recovering with mulch or would you plant the seeds and immediately recover with wood chips and let the greens push up through the wood chips?
In my experience, it is best to allow the seeds to sprout before pushing your mulch back into place. Just leave a narrow strip where you planted the seeds free of heavy mulch until they are 3 to 4 inches tall. The tiny seedlings are extremely tender so the woodchips or mulch can be pretty hard on them as they sprout. I would definitely wait to push the mulch back in place for your onion seeds. Plus, depending on the other variety of seeds planted, some seeds do not like being planted too deep. The mulch adds additional depth that is hard on some plant varieties. So, allowing the seedlings to get established is important before pushing the mulch back in place. As an added bonus, the mulch along each side of your rows will offer additional protection to your newly planted seeds by protecting them from wind as well as helping retain ground moisture. Best to you and your garden!