Benefits of Mulch in a Garden
The Benefits of Mulch in a Garden
A well mulched flower bed or garden bed looks sharp. Mulch does more than look good, however. It cools the soil in the heat, warms it in the cool, retains moisture in the soil, acts as a weed barrier, and retards disease.
A three inch layer of mulch is ideal. It acts as a blanket to warm the soil when conditions are cool and to cool the soil when conditions are hot. This can give you an extra week or two of gardening season in the winter as well as before it gets so hot plants go dormant. In addition, the blanket of mulch holds moisture in the soil, retarding evaporation. This means when you water your garden, the water goes to your plants instead of evaporating into the air. This is especially true if you have drip irrigation with the pipes under the mulch.
In addition to helping regulate temperature and soil moisture, mulch helps keep weeds out of the garden. As weed seeds germinate, they only have a finite amount of energy to grow above ground and reach the sun before they starve and die. The extra three inches of space between the soil and the sun starves most weed seeds before they every grow out of the mulch. This keeps your yard nice and weed free.
Finally, mulch retards disease. Soil has fungal spores in it that splash on the leaves of your plants when you water them. Mulch acts as a barrier between these spores and your plants, keeping them from landing on your plants and causing fungal diseases. Further, if you grow tomatoes, melons, or other vegetables that rest on the ground as they develop, mulch can keep them cleaner and help protect them from fungal diseases as well.
Help your plants and spread a layer of three inches of mulch around them to control soil temperature, retain soil moisture, and retard disease. Order your mulch today by calling (813) 358-8990. We deliver mulch in quantities of 3-18 cubic yards with 24 hours notice, so you can be spreading mulch tomorrow if you call today.
