All Your Questions About Mulch, Answered!

Crewcut team prepares to lay down tree bark as mulch

Mulch is a layer of material that you apply to the soil’s surface for better soil fertility, health, moisture, reduced weed growth, and aesthetic appeal. The process of mulching can sound complicated and even unnecessary, but we’re here to tell you there’s more value in it than meets the eye. 

Whether you’re an avid gardener or just starting out, we’ve included a few mulching tips and general advice to get you started. Once you start, you’ll be a mulching expert in no time.

What Can I Use for Mulch?

While you can simply pop to your local garden store to pick up bags of pre-made mulch, there’s really no need! Did you know you can make mulch yourself? If you’re wondering what you can use in your magical mixture, you’ll be surprised at what everyday materials make up the perfect recipe. 

• Sawdust

If you can get your hands on untreated sawdust from timber, it can work beautifully as a mulch when paired with animal manure or a nitrogen-rich fertiliser. On its own, it can negatively impact the nitrogen levels in your soil.

• Lawn Clippings

If you prefer something the birds don’t love as much, lawn clippings may make up the majority of your mulch mixture. Just ask your lawn mowing company to leave them behind when they have finished mowing your lawns. They are easy to spread around and work wonders for ground health when applied in thin layers.

• Compost

Any avid gardener who can stay on top of weed growth may like to use compost as a mulch type. It contains plenty of nutrients and can be safe next to young plants. Some people also like to cover the compost with a bark layer or pea straw to suppress weeds.  

• Pea Straw

If you’ve got an endless supply of pea straw, then use it to your advantage. While pea straw breaks down quickly, it can be a welcome addition to any garden for both its aesthetic appeal and soil health benefits.

• Newspaper

If you want to keep weed growth at bay, you can lay thick layers of pre-soaked newspaper down before adding a heavier mulch type on the top. The beauty of newspaper compared to many other base materials is that it’s easy to cut through to add plants.  

What Are the Benefits of Mulch?

Not everyone is passionate about gardening or even knows if they are doing right by their gardens. But if you are looking for a way to make sure your gardens and grounds are as healthy as possible, then mulching is an excellent way to begin. You may be surprised at just how many benefits are associated with this one simple task.

• Drought Survival

A lack of rainfall can genuinely take a toll on anyone’s grounds. While you may not prevent a few garden casualties, using mulch in the garden can end up being a saving grace. It can reduce how much water evaporates from the soil, preventing you from needing to water your plants as often.

• Insulation

When you add a layer of mulch to soil, you are actually adding a layer of insulation. Keeping soil cooler in summer can significantly benefit your plant roots.

• Improves Soil Quality

If the soil quality is lacking in your garden, mulch may be able to assist. Its job is to break up the clay, leading to better air and water movement through the soil. Depending on what you used, the nutrients within the mulch can also improve the nutrient value of sandy soils that typically struggle to hold water.

• Prevents Weed Growth

You won’t find too many people who enjoy weeding. The weeds just don’t seem to give up! You may never get rid of them entirely, but the process of mulching can stop them from growing as frequently. When they do grow, they end up being a lot easier to pull out.

Is Mulch Really Necessary?

“But my gardens grow just fine without mulch,” you say. Many gardens indeed thrive without mulch, and some could definitely do a little better. If you refer to the benefits of mulch above, you can see that in some challenging weather conditions, mulch acts as a much-needed form of support for your plants – especially the more vulnerable ones.

What Is the Disadvantage of Mulching?

You can have too much of a good thing, and that’s including mulch. It’s essential to strike a careful balance when applying mulch. Too little, and your garden won’t experience the full effects. But too much, and you’ve got a much larger problem on your hands. 

Too much mulch can suffocate your plants, bury them, and cause them to die. It can also be a convenient hiding place for pests while even baking your plants if they experience excessive heat.

What Is Mulch Made Out Of?

If you were to purchase a mulch product from your local garden store, instead of making them out of the materials mentioned above, you’d find some of the following components:

• Tree bark

• Wood chips

• Grass clippings

• Pine straw

• Leaves

Is Mulch Bad for You?

There is very little solid evidence to suggest that mulch, in general, is bad for your health. However, it’s worth being aware of what’s inside your mulch. Some mulch components, such as treated wood, may contain harmful chemicals, like chromated copper arsenate, which is a type of arsenic. If you purchase commercial mulch, pay attention to what use instructions are listed on the bag. At a minimum, the manufacturer may recommend that you wear a mask while opening the bag and dampening it before use.

What Is A Good Mulch?

Given how many different materials can form mulch for your gardens, is there truly a winning recipe? Essentially, anything that was once a living material can become a form of mulch. You may be onto a winner if your mulch consists of leaves, compost, wood chips, bark, sawdust, straw, grass, and paper.

Mulch in NZ?

If, even after all this information, you’re confused about what mulch is and how to create and use it in NZ, then you’re in luck. No matter where you live in Aotearoa, you can likely find a gardening or lawn mowing expert near you who is more than willing to take the reins on improving your garden’s health. Happy mulching, everyone!