There are plenty of reasons for spreading a layer of pebbles or wood chippings on top of the soil round the garden plants. A mulch layer is claimed to retard weeds, control the top-soil temperature, save water by reducing evaporation from the soil and stop soil erosion. All this is true in theory, but simply spreading some mulch doesn’t always produce OK results. How then is it able to be used most effectively? The employment of an inorganic material like ornamental pebbles is frequently part of an overall design, particularly in Mediterranean style gardens. They’re best employed as a ground cover, with some sculptural plants dotted inside because they make plant feeding and weed removal among other jobs, more problematical.

Let’s take then a scenario where a prostrate ground cover species is to be planted at a distance of one meter between the plants.

The 2 principle advantages of spreading organic mulch like wood chippings between the plants, is that the soil conditions are essentially improved, and the temperature of the top layers of the soil are controlled.

This is of substantial importance in hot dry climates, where the temperature at the soils’ surface can reach 50c and more. Mulching can’t be insulated from other gardening jobs like feeding. A brilliant way of conquering the practical inconvenience of feeding the plants thru an existing mulch layer is to include into the soil, big amounts of compost before planting. If compost is dug in to the soil at a rate of sixty liters per square meter, then along with the wood chippings slowly adding humus to the soil as they break down, there should be tiny reason to feed for roughly five years! Added to the incontrovertible fact that with a mulch layer, there is no real need to hoe and cultivate the top soil, a major saving in work can be done. With such quantities only use compost that has been comprehensively broken down and is from a known and trustworthy source. Notwithstanding its multiple benefits, it is vital to recognize the restrictions of mulching. To be efficacious in retarding weeds, organic mulches should be spread to a net depth of at least 10cm. As at least 5cm is responsible to settle, the gross depth of material should thus be some 15cm. This makes wood chippings a comparatively pricey option.

Mulches, while noticeably reducing the germination rate among yearly weed seeds, often have tiny effect on evergreen weeds. With regard to saving water, they’re most suited to drip irrigation, but far less so where sprinklers are used, as the mulch layer soaks up a substantial quantity of the moisture dispersed by the sprinklers. For more information on this topic, click on the link below, and then on the Articles page where the following, organized alphabetically can be discovered:

1. Five Wonderful Reasons for Mulching Your Garden Beds.

2. Preventing Weeds in a Winter Mediterranean Garden