Anyone who has a garden has heard about mulching. It’s one of the building blocks of a healthy garden, and there’s an almost endless variety of things called mulch, especially organic mulches.
Organic mulch is a natural ground cover made from plant-based or animal-based materials. But its benefits extend beyond simple weed control and moisture retention. Organic mulch also stimulates microorganisms, improves soil structure, and releases nutrients into the soil as it decomposes (primarily inorganic materials such as rubber and pea gravel used for ground cover and landscaping). (Different from multi).
If you’re confused by all the options, here are 12 of my favorite organic mulches for your vegetable garden, flower beds, and landscape (some of which you can get for free in your own garden) There may also be).
Disclosure: If you shop from my articles or make a purchase through one of my links, I may receive a commission on some of the products I recommend.
compost
Do you have a compost pile? Wow, I made multi!
I know that compost is typically used as a soil amendment, but if you have some leftover compost, you might want to consider it. It’s free, packed with nutrients, and rich in beneficial microbes, bugs, and other natural decomposers. You can use the compost as is. No need to add another multilayer on top of that.
If you have a large area to cover, purchasing compost in bulk is a great way to nourish and protect your soil at the same time.
When I planted my orchard a few years ago (see image above), I put a few inches of forest-based mulch around the trees to “tuck into beds” during the fall and winter. Steamed compost keeps young root systems warm and enriches the soil as it progresses down.
Note
Organic mulch can contain surprising things like weed seeds, mushroom spores, or unfortunately, pesticides and other toxins. Be sure to source your organic mulch from a reliable supplier to avoid introducing weeds and other unwanted elements into your garden.
fallen leaves
If you have a tree in your yard, don’t throw away the leaves after raking them in the fall.
Finely chop them (with a string trimmer) or chop them (with a lawn mower or electric leaf mulcher) and scatter them over the soil. If the leaves are small (such as on poplar trees), you can leave them whole.
Small pieces of leaves break down faster and are less likely to become mats than larger whole leaves (such as maple or oak leaves). To aerate the large leaves, mix them with pine needles or grass clippings to keep them from clumping. (Making a “salad mix” like this provides a variety of nutrients and benefits the soil.)
Other ways you can use fall leaves to improve soil in your garden include:
mushroom compost
Mushroom compost, a byproduct of mushroom cultivation and commonly sold in some places, makes an excellent mulch. Rich in calcium and other nutrients, it improves water retention and attracts earthworms.
Sometimes known as spent mushroom compost (referring to its use as a medium for mushroom cultivation), this usually involves a large amount of chalk (up to 30 percentage) included. This can make certain types of mushroom compost more alkaline, but it typically has a neutral pH that is suitable for most plants.
What are the drawbacks? Mushroom compost can contain high levels of salts, so it’s best to use it in garden beds where excess salts are diluted by existing soil. (Avoid using mushroom compost for potted plants.)
straw
Straw is a very popular mulch option, as is (to a lesser extent) hay. Yes, there are (almost) weed-free hays such as 100% alfalfa and timothy.
Straw and hay are often used as winter mulch, but are also suitable for summer vegetable gardens. These materials are relatively inexpensive, readily available, lightweight and easy to apply, so kids will be happy to help with the mulching.
When acquiring straw or hay for use in the garden, be sure to ask the supplier if it has not been sprayed. Pesticide residue on treated lawns can stunt plant growth and wreak havoc on the soil.
shredded bark
Shredded bark, also known as bark chips, is usually chopped outer bark from coniferous trees such as fir, pine, and redwood. Different tree species have different appearances, so shredded bark comes in a variety of colors and textures.
If you want a very durable mulch that will hold its shape and not blow away, this is a good choice. I especially like using shredded bark to mark paths and mulch slopes. Ideal if you live in a rainy, windy area or in a hilly area.
wood chips
Wood chips are one of the most popular types of organic mulch, especially for use around trees and shrubs, or when you want a natural-looking walkway.
Wood chips, similar to bark chips but made from the woody parts of trees, are a material you already have available if you have a lot of trees in your garden. When pruning every year, just pass the unnecessary branches through the wood chipper and the mulch will be completed for free. (You can also do this with an old Christmas tree.)
If you don’t have a tree or a wood chipper, you may be able to find an arborist who will unload a pile of wood chips onto your driveway for free (or a small fee). This can happen if the arborist has just finished cutting down a tree nearby and you don’t want to take the load to the local landfill or recycling facility.
So if you see a logger working in your neighborhood, stop and ask if they have plans for tipping. They may also feel relieved that there is someone willing to take them in. The wood chips obtained from tree felling operations are not the cleanest, as they are usually mixed with other wood debris such as leaves, twigs, and pine cones. But if you just want to cover the basics, this is a great method.
sawdust or wood shavings
Like wood chips, sawdust and wood shavings are also harvested from trees. Its low harshness makes it ideal for seedlings, small plants, and container plants. However, since sawdust is fine-grained, it may form a scab easily. Therefore, if the sawdust becomes compacted, you may need to gently shake it off with a rake.
Contrary to popular belief, sawdust is not acidic and has no effect on acid-loving plants such as rhododendrons and azaleas (other than keeping the surrounding soil moist and healthy).
pine straw
Pine straw usually refers to commercially available bales of aged pine needles, but at home you can also simply collect fallen pine needles and use them as mulch. It is commonly applied as a landscape mulch to prevent soil erosion, but is also great as a garden mulch.
Pine needles are lightweight and take a long time to decompose. If you have a pine tree in your garden, you may already have access to free pine needles.
This is another misunderstood form of mulching. It is often said that pine needles acidify the soil, but this is not actually the case.
While it is true that pine needles are acidic when they fall (and are still somewhat fresh), they are quickly neutralized by microorganisms in the ground, so decomposition does not make the soil acidic.
cut grass
Many lawn mowers have a grass catcher that collects grass clippings while mowing. Instead of throwing these clippings in the trash or recycling bin, save them to use as mulch.
A thin layer of grass clippings quickly rots, providing nutrients to the soil and retaining moisture. This is an easy way to get free mulch in the summer, and if you don’t need any more mulch in your garden, just spread the grass clippings on your lawn and let them rot in place.
freshly cut cover crop
It’s always a good idea to grow cover crops in your fall or winter garden after your last vegetable harvest. It provides nutrients to the soil and keeps the soil structure intact, further increasing next year’s crop growth and productivity.
To nourish the soil, you can try cover crops like Austrian winter peas (and the shoots themselves taste like peas, making them a snack during the winter).
Related: How to grow broad beans as a cover crop to fertilize your soil (free)
When it’s time to cut back your cover crops, just after the first pea flowers bloom, you can cut them all down and leave the vines as mulch for other plants (instead of tilling them into the soil) .
Did you know?
Ground covers such as thyme, clover, ice plant (a type of creeping succulent), moneywort, and even moss are sometimes considered types of mulch. This type of “living mulch” can continue to grow permanently around other garden plants and provides many of the same benefits, including moisture retention and weed control.
wool
Surprisingly, not all organic mulches are plant-based. Sheep wool is a mulch that I have been experimenting with for several years and so far the results have been promising.
Of course, high-quality wool is great for making clothes, but not all wool sheared from sheep is suitable for clothing. For example, sheep bum wool may be too dirty or of poor quality for this purpose. Therefore, it is sometimes sold as mulch or given as a gift.
If you can find it at a local farm looking to unload old wool (that’s where I source my wool), the benefits of wool mulch include excellent insulation (a warm, cozy blanket for plants). ) and high-density fibers. It truly prevents weed growth, has a high nitrogen content and slows down decomposition.
I like to use sheep’s wool to overwinter strawberry beds (see above) and to mulch young tomato and pepper seedlings in the spring (see this in my post about tomato trellising) ). It does have a bit of a “farm smell” after it rains, but it’s ok with showers, hail, snow and wind.
I was able to reuse wool mulch for 2-3 seasons before it went mushy. They were then buried under new plantings or added to the compost pile to complete decomposition.
cocoa shell
A byproduct of the chocolate industry, cocoa shells are the roasted shells of cocoa beans. This material is gaining attention as a garden mulch. It’s sterile (because it’s pre-roasted), blends well into the landscape, and does everything you want a mulch to do. Oh, and it also smells pretty delicious!
Remember, like chocolate itself, cocoa shells can also contain theobromine and caffeine. This is toxic to dogs and many other animals, so if your furry friend likes to chew on garden materials, you may need to use one of the other mulches on this list. I don’t know.
rice husk
Another great lightweight option, rice husk is the outer layer that protects rice seeds. Since it is not originally edible, it is removed during rice processing. After this, rice husk becomes the perfect mulching material if you want a garden mulch that has good weed control and is slow to rot.
Rice husk improves the soil as it is mainly composed of silica. To prevent splatter, simply mix the rice husks with a small amount of compost, sawdust, or other similar material before preparing the soil.
This post has been updated from an article originally published on March 27, 2023.
