How to Use Mulch in a Vegetable Garden

Mulch- Not Just for Decorative Plants

Mulch is an often-overlooked but extremely beneficial tool for gardens to thrive. It’s mostly found in surrounding landscaping, but not many know how to properly use it within a garden. Mulch helps your plants grow by improving the soil quality and preventing weed growth. Once you know how to use mulch in a vegetable garden, it’ll be a system that you’ll want to use every year!

How Natural Mulch Helps Produce

Using mulch for vegetable gardens and crops along with high quality soil can improve the life of your plants while making gardening easier for you. It provides a great barrier to retain moisture in your soil, and blocks weed growth. On hot days, it keeps the soil and plants cooler. However, you’ll want to make sure you are using the right type of mulch so that you don’t harm your plants.

If you are using mulch on your vegetables, you’ll want to use a natural, lightweight mulch. You can mix and match materials, and often you can even find them around the yard! Hay, straw, and grass clippings are a great option to cover your soil with. Feel free to add in newspaper, sawdust, leaves, or cardboard.

How to Apply the Mulch

The application process for mulch is pretty simple. You’ll want to make sure that the soil is moist before applying, as this will help it stay in place. Spread the mulch around your plants, making sure to leave about an inch or two of space from the base of the plant. The layer of mulch should be 2″ to 3″ deep, thick enough to prevent weed growth but not so thick that you will prevent the soil from getting enough water.

After you’ve spread it around, give the area a good watering so that the mulch can start to do its job! You’ll want to check on your garden regularly to make sure that the mulch hasn’t shifted and is still keeping weeds at bay. Reapply as necessary, and enjoy how healthy your plants look with their fresh layer of mulch.

Experiment with Different Types of Mulch

Mulch is a versatile tool that can be used in many different ways. Get creative with it and see what works best in your garden! Do some research on the specific plants you have in your garden to learn what temperatures your plants need to thrive, and how much water they’ll need. Consider climate and soil type as well in your decision, and then start experimenting with different mulch materials. You may find that some may need to be reapplied more often, or they won’t work well with certain crops. Once you find a favorite, it will improve the quality of your plants and save time in the garden.

Pair Mulch with Quality Topsoil in Your Vegetable Garden

Now that you know how to use mulch in a vegetable garden, you’ll notice that you take up less time on watering and weeding! Using quality soil will also help the plants grow healthy with the nutrients they need. Turn to topsoil experts for the best knowledge on how to make your garden thrive.