One of the most important things you can do for your garden is to mulch your plants. Mulch is any type of non-living covering for your soil. Mulches can be organic or synthetic. Synthetic mulches are rocks, black plastic, weed cloth, or recycled rubber. Organic mulches are wood chips, straw, compost, etc. All mulches have the following advantages:
- Suppress weeds.
- Conserve soil moisture.
- Prevent erosion.
- Moderate soil temperature.
- Creates a finished, attractive look for a garden or landscape.
The additional advantage of non-organic mulches is that they are long-lasting. The disadvantage is that they are more expensive. The additional advantages of organic mulches are that they are a great way to recycle plant material, less expensive, and decompose to provide nutrients to the soil while increasing crucial microbial soil life. The disadvantages are that they need to be replaced frequently, don’t prevent all weeds from coming through, and some material such as straw may have seeds in them that may germinate.
A synthetic weed block material covered with rubber chips or rocks would be more appropriate for an ornamental landscape than a vegetable garden. Although from my perspective, if anything is growing, whether it is ornamental or edible, the soil that sustains this life needs to be nurtured. I recommend organic mulches in any home situation.
Often people will seek the best of both worlds by putting a weed block on the ground then covering it with organic wood chips. This works great for about the first year then the advantage of the weed-blocking covering is decreased because the organic mulch on top of it is decomposing and providing a base for weeds to grow in. In addition, as the organic mulch breaks down you can’t mix it into the soil.
A good source of mulch is your own homemade compost. If you have a lawn and trees another great source of mulch is chopped up leaves and grass clippings collected in the bagger of your lawn mower. Grass clippings alone are a great source of high nitrogen mulch. Leaves alone should be chopped up so they don’t create a mat that makes it difficult for water to get through. Mulches should be about 2 to 6 inches thick depending on the fineness or coarseness of the texture.
Below are some local resources for mulch material if you don’t have enough of your own compost.
Napa Recycling and Composting Facility
820 Levitin Way
American Canyon
707-255-5200
Daily Hours: 8am-4pm
http://www.naparecycling.com
AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE:
Organic compost $8.00/cubic yard
High quality topsoil $18.00/cubic yard
Delivery available only to the city of Napa: 10-cubic yard minimum for a fee.
CCL Organics
1460 Goodyear Road
Benicia, CA 94510
707-751-0466
M-F 7:30am-4pm
http://www.cclorganics.com
Available for purchase:
Wood mulches average $20/cubic yard
Composted mulches average $22/cubic yard
Home Depot and Lowe’s
Various brands and varieties of mulch average $3 to $6 for a 2 cubic foot bag. Check their website for current pricing and availability.
homedepot.com and www.lowes.com
Powell Brother’s Feed
1895 Broadway St.
Vallejo, CA 94589
707-644-3333
http://powellpet.net
Bale of straw $10.95
Crown Hill Materials
1888 Broadway
Vallejo, CA 94589
707-552-3686
http://www.crownhillmaterials.com
Available for purchase:
Organic compost $31.00/cubic yard
Happy Gardening!
