Gardening is a happy mix of simple techniques, all of which are designed to help you get the best from your flowers, fruit and vegetables. It’s significant that many are aimed at improving the soil and mulching has to be the most simple, but important of these. Although an ancient technique, mulching has recently come to the fore thanks to the rise in popularity of no-dig gardening, which relies on thick layers of organic matter to improve the soil from the top down.
WHAT IS A MULCH?
A mulch can literally be any material that covers the soil. Good organic mulches will:
Retain moisture
Suppress weeds
Reduce nutrient loss due to rainfall
Add organic matter (humus) to the soil as it breaks down
Add nutrients and trace elements to feed plants and soil flora and fauna
Cool the soil in summer and act as insulation for the roots in the winter
Protect some fruit and veg, e.g. strawberries, from rain splashes and pests such as slugs
As well as organic mulches there are also lots of inorganic ones such as ground cover fabrics made from various materials either recycled or non-recycled, including plastics, gravel and stones. These have many of the properties above, such as encouraging moisture retention but do not add nutrients or organic matter.
COMMON ORGANIC MULCHES
Some mulches can be ‘home-grown’, for example grass clippings, comfrey leaves and garden compost, or recycled such as cardboard – all top-notch materials for this purpose. Others such as composted bark, straw and straw-based mulches and well-rotted manure may have to be brought in and are great for topping up your own home-made supplies.
GRASS CLIPPINGS
This story is from the October 2020 edition of Kitchen Garden.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2020 edition of Kitchen Garden.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EASY DOES IT!
As the growing season gathers pace there's one thing often in short supply: time! Ever feel like you're chasing your tail? Benedict Vanheems offers some tips to save valuable time and effort
A NEW Kitchen garden!
It's time for sowing and planting in the new garden and while Martin is busy with that, Jill is making a tasty asparagus soup
OUR PLOTTER OF THE MONTH
Kitchen Garden readers rose to the challenge when we asked for pictures of their plots to appear in the magazine this year. It's time to meet another of our talented competition winners
MANAGING WEEDS, NATURALLY
Weeds are never far away but you can keep them at bay without recourse to weedkillers
Meet the apple doctor
KG editor Steve Ott chats to Glyn Smith, head gardener for the National Trust's Erddig estate in Wrexham, about his career and love of the garden he has tended for 38 years
A CORNUCOPIA OF COURGETTES
It's time to sow a first batch of tender crops such as courgettes for picking through the summer months. KG editor Steve Ott has some tips for a super harvest
FLAVOURSOME FRUIT CURRANTS
you If I want to plant some soft fruit that is easy to grow and will give you plenty of flavour, how about trying currants?
TRY AMARANTH! The dual-purpose veg
Garden Organic's research manager Anton Rosenfeld extols the virtues of amaranth and how to grow it
A SPACE APART
Instagrammer James Martin shares his love of gardening and how much it has helped him and his family both mentally and physically under very difficult circumstances
HITTING THE SWEET SPOT
Welcome to the wonderful world of sweetcorn as Rob Smith takes a look at both old and newer varieties, with some growing advice too