Shredded leaves, straw, lawn clippings, compost, etc.
Organic materials like leaves will break down over time, enriching the soil, encouraging a healthy soil microbiome, and feeding your tree. They are best when combined with heavier organic matter like wood chips.
Introduction. Organic mulch materials include grain straw, fresh or old hay, fresh-cut forage or cover crops, chipped brush, wood shavings, tree leaves, cotton gin waste, rice or buckwheat hulls, and other crop residues. Hay and straw are among the most widely used organic mulches in organic horticulture.
DON'T use rocks as mulch.
Yes, they're abundant and pretty, but rocks don't benefit your soil in any way, and can do more harm than good in your garden. Rocks heat up quickly in the sun and hold on to heat, which can raise soil temperature. Warmed-up soil can lead to stressed, thirsty plants.
One of the best mulches to prevent weeds in your garden is wood chips, also known as wooden mulch. Wood chips, including graded fine bark or pine mulch, won't decompose as quickly as other mulch types, giving you a long-term solution to weed control.
A really good all-round mulch is the coarse wood mulches such as pine bark or eucalypt chips. They really do a good job of insulating the soil by trapping plenty of air around the particles as well as allowing moisture down into the soil.
Give the soil a chance to warm. Mulching too early will actually slow down the warming process. Normally, mid- to late spring is the best time to put down mulch. Seedlings can work their way through a thin layer of mulch, but too deep a layer could be impenetrable.
Wood chip mulch, especially recycled bark, eucalyptus mulch and pine bark mulch, is the best mulch for natives, promoting microorganism activity and enhancing nutrients in the soil. As organic mulch decomposes, it releases nutrients, including nitrogen, into the soil to bolster the health of your native plants.
The types of organic mulches that are the least likely to contain any pesticides or herbicides are going to be tree-based: shredded or chipped wood, shredded bark, and pine needles.
Mulching is great for your lawn for a number of reasons. Whether you are mulching leaves or returning lawn clippings back into the lawn, mulching saves time, money, labor, and it is a great soil amendment. There is really no need for raking, bagging, or hauling away either leaves or clippings.
Mulch is probably most commonly used as a bed-covering. An organic mulch, such as bark or wood chip, is spread to evenly cover the top of a flower bed or planting or around the base of trees. Organic mulches are generally more visually pleasing compared to just raw soil and can finish a landscape off nicely.
A common, and readily available organic mulch is grass clippings, typically from your own lawn. Grass clippings can work well in annual flower and vegetable gardens (Figure 4). However, grass clippings should be dry (not freshly cut and still green) before they are applied as a mulch.
Choose coarse chipped or shredded bark mulches because they decompose slowly and are less likely to blow away. Second, make sure to pull weeds by hand as soon as you see them before they take over.
To make mulch out of fallen leaves, turn to your trusty lawnmower for shredding power—without it, they're bound to blow away. Rake them into piles and run over them several times with the mower. (To beef up leaf mulch, you can mix in grass clippings before chopping with the mower.)
Wood chips are shredded, chipped, or ground-up pieces of wood. It sometimes includes bark, branches, and leaves. Wood mulch refers to the way wood chips are used. When spread on the soil surface as a protective top-dressing, we call it wood mulch.
We recommend aged hardwood mulch, applied in a light layer, around your flower beds. Well-aged wood mulch is an ideal choice for flower beds, as it adds nutrients to the soil as it decomposes. Softwood mulch, usually made from pine, can add a bit too much acidity, and doesn't decompose quickly.
Cedar Mulch
Generally more expensive than the other mulches mentioned here, this high-end mulch lasts longer than most thanks to its resistance to decay. Its oils are considered to naturally repel insects, too. Because this mulch is long-lasting, it doesn't provide much nutritional benefit to the soil beneath it.
Use the right mulch
However many 'bark' mulches, particularly pine bark, are food for termites and really an open invitation for infestation. Cypress on the other hand, is naturally resistant to termites, which makes cypress mulch a more sensible choice when mulching your gardens closest to the house.
You can't overdose on Seasol. It's not a Fertiliser.
Inorganic mulches such as gravel and pebbles are longer lasting but don't contribute nutrients or soil conditioning features to the soil. However, they are the best soil insulators because they don't break down.
So, should you remove old mulch? Expert green thumbs contend that getting rid of last year's mulch is completely unnecessary. Mulch gradually breaks down, adding beneficial nutrients and other organic matter to the soil. Removing pre-existing mulch every year only ends up to be extra work and a needless expense.
Because mulch offers far more than mere aesthetic benefits, we typically recommend mulching at least once a year.