Each time you set out a plant, the final planting step is usually to cover the ground around it with a blanket of mulch. Mulches are organic or inorganic materials that retard evaporation from the soil, smother weeds, and insulate the root zone of plants, keeping them cool in summer and protecting them from frost damage in winter. Organic mulches have the added benefit of attracting beneficial earthworms, which aerate the soil and contribute plant nutrients.
Mulches also give the garden a clean, well-managed appearance, and to a degree, you can even color-coordinate some mulches, such as choosing reddish or dark brown wood chips, or earthy-looking rich, black compost to fine-tune the color scheme.
You can buy many types of mulch at garden centers and discount stores, either in bags or by the truckload. Some of the most common organic mulches include bark nuggets, shredded wood chips, and pine needles, which are often sold in neatly bound bales. For these or any other mulch to be effective, they should be spread on the ground about 3 in (8 cm) thick. You should expect them to pack down in time, and also expect the organic ones to gradually decompose, becoming a thinner layer after a few months. When this happens, simply spread more mulch over the old.
Be careful not to pile mulch right against the trunks of trees, or to smother the bases of shrubs or perennials. With woody plants, it is usually best to leave 2 in (5 cm) of open space between the trunk or stem and the blanket of mulch, to avoid holding moisture next to the trunk, which is a situation that invites disease and insect infestation.
Mulching for Winter Protection
Mulches help cool soil temperatures during the growing season, and you can also depend on mulch to reduce the negative impact of cold winter weather on dormant plants. In many areas, the problem is not due to prolonged freezing, but to repeated freezing and thawing of the soil, which causes plant roots to break, and can actually heave plants out of the soil exposing their roots to frost damage. In cold-winter areas, piling on a double layer of fluffy organic mulch after the soil freezes, helps keep plants safe from these destructive changes in the weather.
Where winters are usually mild, sudden cold snaps can damage plants that hold tender green growth through the winter. An extra layer of winter mulch composed of a fluffy material, such as straw or evergreen boughs, safeguards shallow roots and green shoots from frost damage, without smothering the crowns of the plants. To protect young shrubs from hungry rabbits and deer, enclose the plants in a protective cage made from wire fencing and put insulating mulch inside the cage.
Outwitting Weeds
Attentive mulching will go a long way toward preventing weed problems, but in every garden some weeds invariably find places to grow. Weeds are always most troublesome in open, cultivated soil that receives abundant sunshine, but even shade gardens can become targets for vining weeds and unwanted tree seedlings.
Beds filled with flowering plants often must be weeded by hand, which can be a pleasant chore if done when the soil is moist so that weeds pull free with ease. Wear comfortable, close-fitting gloves, and make use of a kneeling pad. But don't rest when your bed is clean. Instead, mulch the weeded space immediately to frustrate weedy replacements, which will certainly appear if the area is left unmulched.
Where you have more space to work, a sharp hoe can make quick work of eliminating young weeds, which will quickly wither in the sun when they are sliced off just below the soil's surface. You may need a pair of pliers to pull and twist out woody weeds, which have extremely tough, tenacious roots. When woody tree or shrub seedlings are simply cut off at ground level, they will often resprout from the roots left behind.
To control the worst weeds, cover the ground with a commercial non-woven fabric weed barrier, and then cover the fabric with an attractive organic mulch. This is the best way to keep weeds out of new groundcover plantings or shrub groupings until they reach mature size, which often take two years. After that, they will effectively shade out weeds.
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