Mulch

[Christian]

Will using decomposed leaves from the woods make an ok mulch?

 

[Chuck]

Will using decomposed leaves from the woods make an ok mulch?

One of the best there is if there aren't any weeds where you got it

 

[Esther Knapicius]

I don't like using leaves that are composed, leaves do contain a higher acid content. when I do use mulch it is the wood type .

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I use leaf mulch and it works great. That's how nature does it every autumn. However, if you'll be gathering it from the woods, keep in mind you may also be adding unknown seeds into your garden. That might not bother you any, but you should know it could happen.

 

[Raider19]

Every spring I put down an all purpose fertilizer and peat moss over my gardens. In mid-spring I go back over the gardens with black cedar mulch and call it a spring. This is very fast and easy to do and my gardens always look nice. Through-out late spring and summer I will do specialized fertilizing and trimming for each type of plan in my garden.

 

[Corzhens]

I don't exactly know what a mulch is but we use dried leaves as ingredient in potting materials, the decomposed is better. When we are preparing beds for planting, the soil is filtered for stones and other hard objects then the mixing begins - coconut coir, rice husk, dried leaves dried weeds, compost and any other material that would decompose. We let it like that for 2 weeks before using the soil.

 

[Beverly]

Hello @Corzhens...my understanding about mulch is that it can be just about any material laid on the top of the soil that will lessen water evaporation, keep the plant roots cool or warm is the need may be, and some mulches can also add nutrients to the plant. The variety of mulches used is practically infinite. I use coconut coir as seen in the two photos attached, because coconuts are everywhere i live so it is practically free. I am a big believer in using materials that are readily available. The first photo is a Plumbago that i just transplanted a few days ago. It was way past due to be transplanted (which normally i would do in February). It had grown so beautifully and made so many umbels of blue flowers and it just about killed me to have to cut it back, but i did, and i've lived and it appears that the plant will live as well. I have the Plumbago just lightly mulched because it gets the morning sun only and doesn't need much protection. Mostly the mulch here is keeping the lower leaves off the ground. As it grows i'll probably add more mulch. The second photo is a Night-blooming Jasmine in a container which has a tendency to dry out quickly and receives more sun and so i have more mulch to retain water and help to keep the roots cool on this plant. I find with coir that i have to keep adding it because the birds come and take it for nesting materials. This pleases me and i am happy for them to take whatever they need for their nests.

 

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?DEALJ June 2015 Wood Chip Mulch
Nine cubic yard of wood chip mulch was delivered to my driveway. Cost was $10.00 per yard plus $30.00 delivery charge. This will be sufficient to layer most of my growing area garden about three inches deep. The main purpose is to retain moisture. About seven wheelbarrows is a cubic yard.

 

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?MDJZF 3 June 2014 Mulch
All my plants are heavily mulched with readily available year old wood chips. The layer is 2 to 3 inches thick. I use from 6 to 8 cubic yards each year.I transport in a box in my van, half a yard each trip from a local supplier at $5.00 per load. In my case the main purpose is to retain as much moisture as possible, by inhibiting evaporation due to Sun and wind action. Mulch also plays a role in inhibiting weed growth to some degree. In the Fall the chips are rototilled into the underlying soil. They are mostly composted by the following Spring.

 

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?GLJCP 26 May 2012 Garden all Mulched.
Finished mulching the vegetable garden with wood chips. My primary purpose is to retain moisture. Plants were hand watered by pail as deemed necessary. The moisture situation is almost critical, since there was only one reasonable rain during April and May. This is not anywhere near normal for this area.

 

[Corzhens]

@Beverly, thank you for the knowledge. Now I understand that mulch is like a ground cover for the control of evaporation and maybe to block too much heat from the sun. I really thought that mulch is a potting material, sorry about that. I have seen that ground cover in some farms that we pass by during our trip to provinces but I didn't know that it was actually mulch. The most common I saw in the province was the dried hay and sometimes dried grass.

 

[Beverly]

@Corzhens...no need to feel sorry. I'll tell you a little story. I have a friend who is a Master Gardener. We frequently talk about soil amendments, composting. We talk a lot of dirt. I am not knowledgeable regarding gardening vocabulary, but my friend knows just about everything. I had told her that i was in the process of amending/enriching my soil and she asked me what method i was using to do this. I hesitated to tell her because it sounds so silly. But i did tell her because i didn't think she would make fun of me. When i finished telling her how i was going about amending the soil, she said "Oh that is the Localized Double Digging (LDD) method of soil amendment". I replied "You mean there is a name for what i am doing?" And she said "Yes, of course, but i just made that up" She is a very serious gardener, and she is also very funny.