Mulching
Mulching is one of the most healthy and natural ways of maintaining landscape plants. Mulch is any material applied to the soil surface for protection or improvement of the area covered. Really, mulching is nature’s idea: nature constantly produces large amounts of mulch with fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark, spent flower blossoms and other organic material.
When applied correctly, mulch has many benefits for plants and soil, including:
- Preventing water loss from the soil through evaporation
- Reducing weed growth (when mulch itself is weed-free and applied deep enough to smother existing weeds)
- Maintaining a more even soil temperature through keeping soil cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter
- Preventing crusting of the soil surface, improving absorption and movement of water into the soil
- Improving soil structure and adding nutrients
- Preventing damage of trees and shrubs from lawn equipment
