There are four important reasons to mulch your garden.

1. Water conservation. Adding a layer of mulch will help stop your soil drying out, keep it moist and can reduce your watering by up to 60%.
2. Soil temperature. Mulch helps to maintain your soil temperature constant
3. Weed prevention. Helps to prevent weeds and weed seed germination, which will compete with your plants for nutrients and quickly take over your gardens.
4. Extra nutrients. Using an organic mulch adds extra nutrients to your soil over time as it slowly breaks down.

Organic mulches, such as straw based mulches, are very easy to obtain. Common ones include pea straw, lucerne, bean and cane mulch. They can come by the bale and bagged up in a chopped-up form. These types of mulches are great to use around your veggie beds, as they will easily break down and can be mixed into the soil at the end of the growing season.

Bark mulches are another organic choice, the main benefit being that they take a long time to break down and so don’t need applying as frequently. They come in a range of grades, from fine through medium, to coarse, however it is best to use medium to coarse grade bark mulches because they don’t absorb water and allow it to directly flow through to the soil below. Finer graded bark mulch absorbs moisture and can also form a bed for weeds to grow.

Inorganic mulches can include gravel, scoria and river pebbles. Useful as they won’t break down and need replacing, but they also won’t add any nutrients to your soil. They come in a range or colours and styles and can look great in decorative bedding. But keep in mind that they can look very messy if planted in an area that will get a lot of leaf litter.

To stop birds from flicking you mulch out of your beds, use a border. Either install surrounds purchased from a garden centre or add border plants.

Tips to avoid mulching disasters.

• Don’t use bark mulch on your vegetable gardens. It takes a really long time to break down and will make it really difficult to plant into each successive season. Also, many bark mulches are quite acidic and won’t be good for your plants.
• Avoid fresh mulches such as hay or manure from pastures or hayfields as they will contain weed seeds. Let it sit a few months or compost it to kill them or let them sprout and die.
• Get rid of weeds before mulching. A good layer will smother young weeds, but will not eliminate larger ones.
• Don’t lay it on too thick. Around 2-3 cm is usually ok, anything thicker will prevent water from penetrating. An exception to this is straw based mulches.
• Don’t push mulch up against tree trunks and plant stems. You’re likely to cause rot, so aim for a few cm’s between.
• Avoid using dyed mulches. These can leach harmful chemicals into your soil and into your edible plants.