Mulch not only makes your landscape look amazing, it is an investment in the health of your plants. When plagued by extreme temperatures or drought, mulch helps insulate roots and hold in moisture. Mulch also provides natural weed control and helps fight erosion by stabilizing the soil.
Mulch also creates a beautiful Eco friendly landscapes and gardens. But how does it promote the health of your plants, while saving you time and money? Bay Friendly Landscape Guide To Mulch explains:
Promote Healthy Plants
Mulch is an important integrated pest management (IPM) practice, nurturing healthy, pest resistant plants by:
Reducing competition from weeds
Keeping soil moist
Adding organic matter that feeds beneficial soil organisms
Preventing soil compaction and improving soil structure
Insulating plant roots against temperature extremes
Holding seeds, fertilizers and topsoil in place and reducing splashing of water and soil that might contain disease causing agents
In summer, 2 inches of mulch cuts water loss by 20% and lowers temperature in the top 4 inches of soil by 10 degrees. Young trees also establish themselves better and grow stronger roots under mulch than under bare ground.
Save Time & Money
Using mulch can benefit your maintenance operations by:
Reducing weeds, especially annuals, by as much as 90%, significantly reducing labor costs
Decreasing the costs of buying and applying herbicides • Reducing the need for trimming grass around trees and poles
Conserving water and cutting the cost of irrigation
The Basics of Mulching
To get the best results, before you apply mulch, remove any weeds. Then water thoroughly and apply the mulch.
Replace the grass under trees with mulch, to the drip line. This reduces the completion for nutrients and water from the grass. It can also reduce labor, since you won’t have to mow or trim around the tree.
For the best results, keep the mulch 6 to 12 inches away from the base of the tree, like a donut shape. This minimizes the damage from insects and diseases.
Purchasing mulch in bulk and having it delivered is another way to reduce labor and make your project easier to tackle.
Reliable Peat is Central Florida’s Quality Source For All Your Organic Mulch, Rocks, and Soil.
