Where You Need Mulch and Why

Mulch is a multi-function addition to any garden of any variety. With many different uses and adaptations, you never want to pass on it. It is a fairly inexpensive add-on that is easy to put out without a professional.

There are several places that mulch can be beneficial such as around small trees, and around stepping stones in a pathway, but there are two other places that stand out above the rest. These two main places you want to place your mulch is any flower garden or any vegetable garden. Without mulch in either of these spots, you will soon be overrun by pests, weeds, and heat.

Flower gardens are pretty commonplace for mulch. A lot of times you will see it as an addition to looks. With many different colors, it is easy to find a mulch that matches the plants around it or make the colors of the flowers pop for a more eye-catching effect. There are more important purposes for putting mulch around your flowers, too.

Mulch around flower gardens will help keep weeds away after you work so hard to pull them. It discourages new growth as the sun and air can not reach the seed to stimulate the weed to grow. Mulch will also help retain moisture to help keep the plants from getting scorched and dry up. It acts as a guard from the sun keeping the roots protected. Certain types of mulch will help keep pests away too. For example, cedar mulch will deter termites, ants, and other destructive bugs from your flowers. Cedar is a natural pesticide to help keep your flowers safe.

Vegetable gardens are an often overlooked place for mulch. Many people don’t think to put mulch around their vegetable and fruit plants, but it can be extremely beneficial. Like flower gardens, it does help aesthetically, but more importantly, it also helps with weed control. When trying to produce food weeds can be dangerous by strangling your plants out and taking over the garden. Mulch will help keep the weeds out.

Again the mulch will also help retain moisture in those hot dry months of important growth decreasing the amount of water the garden needs. It will still be important to water the garden, but the mulch will help lock in the moisture keeping it from instantly evaporating or running off. The mulch also helps guard the roots of the plants protecting them from the sun and heat. It acts as an insulation against the extreme heat. Bugs are often a big problem in a vegetable garden so certain types of mulch will help mitigate that issue.

Cedar mulch would be an excellent supplement to bug discouraging plants. One more advantage that mulch can have in a garden of any kind is it can help protect your plants from cold in the winter. If you cover the plants with a mulch it acts as insulation or a blanket to help keep them from freezing so they can bud again the next season.