• Home
• Build Your Own Sprinkler System
• FREE Lawn Care Secrets

Why Mulching Can Be Good For Your Garden (Part 2)

June 3rd, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Here are some more benefits of mulching:

1. Mulching controls the growth of weeds in your garden. Not only do weeds make your garden look unattractive and unkempt, but they also rob your plants of necessary nutrients and water that they need to stay healthy. And because a bare soil is like an open invitation for weeds to grow, think of a mulch as a posted sign that says “keep out!”

Some types of mulches are better in controlling weeds than others. Therefore, if weeds are a constant problem in your garden, consider using an organic mulch which is more effective in controlling them. Be careful, however, when choosing your mulch because some types can actually carry weed seeds.

2. Mulching also protects your perennials from extreme changes in temperature. Mulch helps your garden soil by allowing it to slowly warm-up when the temperature gets really hot during the day, especially in the summer, and also for the soil to slowly cool down at night, especially during the harsh, cold winter air. Mulch also acts as an insulator in places that has broad seasonal change of cold and hot.

Envirocycle Composter & Compost Tea MakerSay Goodbye to those messy hours spent in the compost pile, simply give the drum a few turns and your compost remains well mixed. Even better, the base of the composter collects liquid, producing up to five gallons of compost tea with no additional effort! Compost tea is full of nutrients, and is a great way to fertilize vegetables, flowers and even houseplants. Easy Compost Removal removal — simply roll the tumbler to the area where you want the compost, open the door, and remove the compost from the bin. Made of recycled plastic Volume: 7 cubic feet Eight rollers easily spin the tumbler. Ready to Use compost in 2-3 weeks 4-6 Weeks to create under normal conditions. Great for all organic household waste Produce 450 to 900 pounds of compost per year Aeration through top and bottom openings allowing for better animal resistance. Dimensions: 26″” x 20.5″” x 31.5″” Now on Sale! This is the best price on the NETThis Item is in stock and ships within 24 hours!”

3. Mulching enhances the appearance of your perennial garden. Applying mulch to your flower beds makes your garden look complete and aesthetically pleasing, especially if the same kind of mulch is used all around your landscape. Different types of mulch creates different kinds of visual aspects to your garden, depending on your preference and choice of theme. In addition to making your perennial garden look pretty, mulching also prevents dirt from splashing up into the flowers, walls, and walkways, thus, reducing mud spots when it rains.

Selecting The Best Mulch To Use For Your Perennials
There are dozens of materials that are effective and readily available to use for mulching. However, to find out the best one to use for your garden, you need to be familiar with the the different types of them in order to make the best choice. Mulches are divided into three types:

1. Organics: This kind of mulch came from a living material and gradually decomposes. Some examples are straws, compost, grass clippings, and pine needles.
2. Inorganics: Inorganic mulches are inert materials and are sometimes used in conjunction with organic mulches. This includes several types of stones, rocks, gravel, and stone chips.
3. Weed control barriers: This type of mulch can be organic or inorganic and is often used along with organic or inorganic mulch. Examples are woven fabric and newspaper.

Why Mulching Can Be Good For Your Garden (Part 1)

June 1st, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

A mulch is a protective layer of covering that is left on the surface of the ground for the purpose of protecting and insulating the soil, as well as improving the appearance of your garden. There are many types of materials that can be used as mulch. Some of the most common ones are

1. sawdust,
2. paper, and
3. compost.

If you are not very concerned about giving your garden a pleasing appearance or an aesthetic appeal, then you may use just about any type of material that you can find in your house. Some gardeners use their old polyester clothes that they shred into tiny strips while other people use plain old ground rubber tires (a relatively new concept that has yet to be concluded as effective). The point here is that there are dozens of mulch choices that are available for your garden that fits into your design and budget.

Nature is the first one to come up with the concept of mulching and does an excellent job creating its own. For example, trees have a way of producing a natural mulch by collecting their own falling leaves, strips of bark and twigs, needles, and fallen flowers and fruits, and spreading them all around the ground. You’ll also find broken gravels and rocks covering the ground of an unmoved soil.

Mulching, regardless of the type you use, helps by protecting your soil and giving your garden a more attractive appearance. Below are two important ways that mulching benefits your garden.

1. Mulching prevents soil erosion. Soil erosion occurs when water or wind gradually washes away the surface of your soil. Without proper mulching, heavy drops of water from sprinkles and rain breaks into the surface of the soil and removes it. In addition, water erosion also cuts deformed channels through the flower bed. Mulching gives the soil a protective layer that traps the water while letting it flow down underneath the soil where it’s supposed to go.

2. Mulching helps retain moisture in you garden soil. Covering with a layer of mulch slows down the evaporation process (loss of moisture) to your soil by protecting it from extreme heat of the sun, especially during the hot summer months. Therefore, you spend less time watering, which also helps you save money on your water bill.

Microbe Lift Compost Maker A specially formulated blend of highly active micro-organisms, nutrients, and special enzyme systems that will synergistically accelerate the natural compost degradation cycle. 100% natural, environmentally friendly, non-corrosive, non-acidic. Micobe Lift Compost Maker has bio-dynamic composting action which breaks down organic material into compost. It helps prevent yard and garden wastes from overloading landfills. Compost Maker is odorless and will not harm earthworms Converts leaves, grass clippings and other organic matter into beneficial mulch and soil conditioner. Rapidly breaks down organic material into compost. Helps prevent yard and garden wastes from overloading landfills. Will not harm earthworms. Turns grass clippings, leaves and waste into healthy soil-enriching humus.

Getting The Right Mulch For Your Garden

April 15th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

People new to gardening often overlook the importance of selecting the right mulch for their garden. Some factors are quite obvious, while others have not been thought of. Below are several factors that you need to keep in mind when you hit the garden store for mulch:

1. Choose a mulch that does not promote the depletion of nitrogen. Nitrogen is a very important (and essential) nutrient that needs to be in your soil. However, this nutrient can be scarce depending on the type of mulch used.

A good example would be using finely chopped mulch, like sawdust. There are microorganisms that are responsible for decomposing this sawdust while at the same time they seriously deplete it of nitrogen that is needed for your plants. In time, if your perennials and other flowers are living in this type of mulch, the lack of nitrogen will cause them to become “chlorotic”, or yellow in color, which is the result of a nutrition deficiency.

Should the rest of your garden start the same chlorotic signs then it is time to consider that you have a nitrogen depletion problem.  A good way to fix this is to add approximately 2 pounds of complete fertilizer spread out for every 100 ft. Spread the fertilizer all around your soil and then lay down your mulch. If you are not facing a nutritional deficiency in your garden then you can also use this technique as a preventative measure against nitrogen depletion.

2. Another factor to consider when buying mulch is its flammability. This is one of those situations that most gardeners rarely consider. However, many fires are started in garden areas due to smokers flicking their cigarettes when they are done. This is especially true if you have created a garden area around an office building or some other public area.

Dropped cigarettes and lit matches can easily set off mulches that are organic. Even if your garden is created in your backyard and is totally personal, you still may want to consider flammability as a possible hazard in case anybody does come over and has a cigarette or two. Fire dangers include hay, pine needles, recycled mulches, and straw.

3. Last but not least, be careful when using organic mulches in areas that are poorly drained and gather up moisture easily. These low-lying wet areas may collect gallons of water which can produce toxic chemicals due to the decomposition that is occurring. These chemicals are a danger to your perennials and other flowers because of its toxicity. If the garden area you are considering is already prone to this type of water build up, then adding mulch is not a good idea and will only slow down the soil’s process of drying out.

Copyright © 2007 Lawn Care - Lawn Care Maintenance Tips at www.TheGreenFingers.com