Mulching is the way to go for gardening & has been promoted, here in Australia, for decades. In fact, it is rare to see a garden, of any type, that is not mulched. In our area it is sugarcane bagasse that is commonly sold for use as a mulch, as well as hay or alfalfa straw. In the early days of mulching unfortunately it was thought that the use of heavy duty black plastic, covered with pine bark chips, was the way to go. The poor plants!! Sure they were weed-free but their roots were cooked & they received very little water. It really wasn't a good idea. Fortunately, that idea disappeared but it did take a while, although it is still used for some large-scale agricultural purposes but with the use of drip watering systems under the plastic.

Not only does mulching reduce the need for watering but it also cuts down weed growth. I have even thought about using some on my container plants but the bales of mulch are too big for me to use. Have used quartz gravel as an ornamental mulch for some of my potted plants but it, unfortunately, becomes a nuisance when you need to repot the plant.

Now, in our area, all tree trimmings & cuttings are put through chippers for eventual recycling as mulch or compost. The large ghost gum, over the back of our place, sheds its bark each year, & the owner of the tree has the long strips of shed bark chipped. Very handy. They have their very own mulch growing in their backyard. It also gets rid of the huge amount of shed bark strips from their yard.

Mulch should be applied quite thickly, about 15cms or 6ins deep & is recommended for all types of gardening. Even trees & shrubs will benefit from being mulched.

Here are links to some articles on mulching.


Mulch

How To Mulch

Mulching Techniques & For Trees

Thanks Joy. I will read the links.

Thanks for bringing the subject up, Glad. Mulching is a great gardening tool & is a big help for both the gardener & their garden as well as for the environment in general.

It would be interesting to hear of the various types of mulch that people find useful.

You are welcome Joy.

I am very interested in the mulching.

I enjoyed the following page with the video:

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/

That is very interesting, Glad, & reminded me I had put a Sticky about Companion Plantings, in the Container Veggies & Herbs forum in the Potted Garden category up above.

Here is the link. Companion Plantings - Herbs & Veggies

Gardening Australia is a long running gardening show on our public broadcaster, the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corp) & they have very good articles from their magazine & TV show, on the net, about all sorts of gardening stuff.

One tree trimmer brought me a dump truck load of mulch today so now I can get to helping the son spread it all over the garden. It is green and fresh from a tree taken down today so needs to age. We will spread it in areas that are done for the season first such as the lettuce, spinach and beets area.

Going to take a picture of it!

By the time this year's garden is done we can begin spreading. We can also use some now as the season finishes for some crops. Potatoes will be dug in a few weeks so there is two sections that can have mulch right away.

Joy....I had forgotten this mulch section. You can transfer my mulch info from today here if you like.

Sorry!

That's ok, Glad. Shall move your mulch posts here & will also place a copy of the Companion Plants topic in this forum as well.

Glad E Olah wrote:One tree trimmer brought me a dump truck load of mulch today so now I can get to helping the son spread it all over the garden. It is green and fresh from a tree taken down today so needs to age. We will spread it in areas that are done for the season first such as the lettuce, spinach and beets area.

Going to take a picture of it!

That is an impressive load of mulch, Glad. Your garden is going to love it. No wonder you are so happy!!

Saw a tree mulcher drive into town yesterday, then leave a few hours later, so they must have had quite a bit of tree trimmings to process. It is great that this is being done now as, previously, this stuff would have been wasted by burning. Now it has become a desirable commodity. All the tree prunings, done by the power company, are left by the kerbside for the mulchers who come along the next day. Not even a leave is left. Thankfully, the tree pruners currently contracted to the power company are tree lovers & prune them sensitively, after consultation with the householder.

Joy wrote:

Glad E Olah wrote:One tree trimmer brought me a dump truck load of mulch today so now I can get to helping the son spread it all over the garden. It is green and fresh from a tree taken down today so needs to age. We will spread it in areas that are done for the season first such as the lettuce, spinach and beets area.

Going to take a picture of it!

That is an impressive load of mulch, Glad. Your garden is going to love it. No wonder you are so happy!!

Saw a tree mulcher drive into town yesterday, then leave a few hours later, so they must have had quite a bit of tree trimmings to process. It is great that this is being done now as, previously, this stuff would have been wasted by burning. Now it has become a desirable commodity. All the tree prunings, done by the power company, are left by the kerbside for the mulchers who come along the next day. Not even a leave is left. Thankfully, the tree pruners currently contracted to the power company are tree lovers & prune them sensitively, after consultation with the householder.

If the power company has not brought me mulch by first of August I was told to call them back. The pile in the picture is almost gone now. The mulch helped my garden during our on going heat of over 100 degrees for a couple of weeks. On Monday they say it will cool down to 89 as our high. I sure hope so!

Have heard about the serious heat wave the US has been experiencing, Glad. It must have been very unpleasant for you, so we hope it does cool down, as promised, real soon. A thick layer of mulch is so good with helping gardens cope with such high temps.

That is great that your power company does offer mulch to the householders. Do they charge much for it?? Don't know what happens, here, to the mulch made from the prunings. Probably is sold through nurseries or goes to worm farms.

The power company gives it to you but you have to live in their working area before they bring it.

The big load in the picture cost $30 and I was happy to get it.

That is great that the power company gives you the mulch, Glad. Here, they would not be so benevolent. If the truth be known they (our power company) probably offsets the costs of pruning our trees on to our power prices, as running costs, then sells the mulch for added profit.

$30 for that big load of mulch, delivered to your yard, was a great price & well worth it in water savings, too.

Yes it was a good price I thought.

Never knew that there's such a thing like this! Thanks so much for the information will visit the sites posted.




patio lighting

Welcome to A Patio Garden, AAbbananana.

Mulching is a great contribution towards healthy plants & soil. It is highly recommended in any garden. Do hope the links will be of some assistance to you.

Hello AAbbananana. Mulching is a lifesaver in my garden.....or should I say veggie saver?

I mentioned in another thread about our much needed rain. Usually when that happens you cannot walk in the garden because of mud. Well with the thick mulch I am able to walk in the garden without getting shoes all muddy. Nice!

Thanks so much for this great information!

You are very welcome, AAbbananana. If you would like more information, please ask & we will be only too happy to try & help if we can.

Still waiting for more mulch. Guess I need to call to remind them.

It does seem as though a reminder call is in order, Glad. Maybe your delivery request has slipped down through the cracks, as we say.

Right Joy still no new mulch. I will call next week one day.

That is a good plan, Glad. You will probably need some to get your garden ready for winter.