Mulch vs alternatives?
Question:Why do people put mulch around trees? Why not just grow something around them? Even in flower gardens, wouldn't it be just as good or better to grow stuff everywhere than put mulch between flowers?
Answers:
It doesn't sound to me like you are the one doing the yard work. Using mulch is a method of keeping the grass and weeds from growing close to trees and in beds. It aids in preventing trees from being damaged be weedeaters and also helps retain moisture while slowing moisture loss. Maintaining flower beds is not care free. Flowers beds and landscaped areas around trees and shrubs require considerable work including pruning, weed prevention, and a host of other required work in order to maintain the beauty and continuity in the garden. In and around shrubs and flowers, it is often necessary to remove weeds and such by hand. Gardening is hard work and persistant maintenance with the payoff being a lovely yard that everyone can appreciate. No neighborhood is as pretty as the one where all the folks are competing for the greenest grass, prettiest flowers, and best manicured lawn. Just my opinion. Anyway, thats why people use mulch.
Mulch helps conserve water and provides nutrients for the soil as it deteriorates
Planting more flowers increases need for water and draws nutrients from the soil
Mulch does provide nutrional value. I'm a fungi gardener myself, but in mycology, one quickly learns the need for wood chip mulch for wood loving mushrooms.
Also, if you ever to decide to grow a fungi garden,
check out:
http://www.shroomery.org
Go to the message board and sign up.
Search for my screen name "Stoned_Myconaut"
and I'll help get you on the way to wonderful musroom growing.
We put mulch to 1) keep moisture in the soil and 2) cut down on weeding. Certain mulches also make the beds very attractive. Adding additional plants as ground cover would likely overtake the flowers you were trying to protect. Their root systems would compete for the water the bed was receiving. You do have to be aware that most mulches take nitrogen from the soil when decomposing, so add a shot of nitrogen based fertilizer (the first number in a fertilizer, like 12-12-12) when mulching.
It boils down to being a personal preference ...
True ... it can be just as good, maybe not necessarily better, to grow flowers and plants everywhere rather than use mulch.
Mulch can be beneficial by preventing weeds and helping to retain moisture in and around plants. Here's a little more info: http://www.gardening-quick-n-easy.com/mu...
For myself, half my garden beds have some mulch in them, the other half are filled with plants and flowers.
Because everyone has different tastes. Some people like pink flamingos or gnomes, some don't. We planted hostas around our trees and we mulch them with the grass clippings.
I like to mulch and plant around trees to make it easier to mow around them, and it keeps the trees from getting nicked up with the mower or trimmer.
In gardens, some plants need more space than others and mulching keeps the moisture even in the soil and helps keep the weeds down.
Our favorite mulch is grass clippings, they are free, abundant and add nitrogen to the soil.
Check out our website for more gardening ideas at-
http://www.gardening-at-the-crossroads.c...
Good Luck and Happy Gardening from Cathy and Neal!
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