The magic of mulching
If there’s one autumnal garden task that’s top of the list, it’s mulching my beds and borders. The importance of it can’t be underestimated, so if you don’t get round to doing anything else (it’s a bit chilly out there) then choose this as the one job you venture outside for. It’s a bit of an all-in-one job with so many benefits, so you can kill 10 birds with one stone, as it were. But ultimately in the long run its best benefit is helping all your plants and soil stay healthy. It’s the classic mindset of the good gardener, looking ahead to the health and wellbeing of next year’s garden, right now.
Mulch, put simply, is a layer of organic material spread on top of your soil and around your plants – bark, well-rotted manure, seaweed, leaf mould, chipped wood waste and, best of all, garden compost. It’ll help retain moisture in soil so you can reduce watering, suppress weeds, warm up your soil, improve its structure, insulate your plant roots and…well, it looks really nice, too! More vitally, though, mulching improves your soil’s rich, organic matter, adds nutrients and increases its biodiversity, encouraging beneficial organisms such as our best friend, the earthworm. After all, good gardening starts with good soil.
Start by weeding well, then, after a rain shower, mulch 5cm (2in) deep around your plants and in bare borders, anywhere there’s soil in need of a good feed. Take care not to smother low plants and leave a bit of a gap next to woody stems so they don’t get too moist and rot. Another couple of top tips – mulch trees to the width of their canopy, and don’t mulch Mediterranean plants such as rosemary or thyme – the moisture is too much for them. As it decomposes over time, mulches will feed your plants and your soil’s organisms so you won’t need to use as many man-made feeds.
Everyone’s, and I mean everyone’s, plants – and all wildlife – depends on your soil and its bustling community for survival. Good gardeners, who know that growing healthy plants depends on looking after their soil, will be rewarded with more wildlife, too.