Organic Garden VegetableOrganic garden vegetable information on fertilizers, compost, pest control, watering, soil and more

Mulching is a Must

Mulch your way to great soil and happy plants.

Now we’ve looked at what kind of soil we’re working with, how to improve and feed the soil, transplanting young seedlings and watering.

The next thing to consider is how to keep the water in the soil, right where the plants need it.

I think the best way to prevent moisture loss is to mulch. There are so many materials that we can use for our mulching, because essentially any material placed over the soil can be called a mulch.

But because we are gardening organically, it’s important to make sure that the mulching material we choose is organic and, if possible, that it has been produced organically to give us the best mulch.

I like to use a combination of a layer of compost on the soil, covered with a layer of pea straw for our garden mulch.

Some of the benefits of using an organic mulch such as pea straw are:

1. It slows down evaporation from the soil
2. Need to water less often
3. It prevents soil erosion
4. As it breaks down, it feeds the soil
5. It helps prevent weeds
6. Keeps your plants cleaner

So you can see it really is worth the effort of mulching and it’s not that much effort. It kind of tidies up your vegetable garden as it’s laid down.

You’ll find more detailed information on watering and mulching in the Organic Food Gardening Beginner’s Manual.

Today’s Top Tip

Acid-Loving Plants

Mulch any acid-loving plants with a thick layer of pine needles each autumn (fall). As they break down the soil becomes more acidic.

Something to be aware of though: pine needles exude a substance that prevents many seeds from germinating. That’s one reason why you don’t usually see other plants growing under pine trees.