garden news-mulch is a good thing

GARDEN NEWS-MULCH IS A GOOD THING

the last time it rained here was in february i think
it wont rain again until probably october
plus
we didnt get much rain last year either
so
the soil around here is real real dry

one way to hold moisture in the soil is to mulch it
plus when it does rain the mulch will acts as a sponge to soak up the moisture and to keep the rain from running away out of your garden

at the country n i used to get a mulch called the texas native hardwood mulch
it was all from local hardwood that had been cut down for clearing land or right of ways on the highways etc

it is the best mulch ive ever used
it was dark and had this earthy composty smell
over time it would eventually all breakdown to enrich the soil

so 
why mulch
well
it
holds moisture in soil
keeps rainwater from running off
suppresses weeds
keeps the soil warm in the winter and cooler in the summer
breaks down to fed the soil
makes the soil look better in the yard or garden
reduces water use
prevents mud splash on plants

for some reason folks here dont use mulch as much as we did in texas
im not sure why 
unless its easier for gardeners

im a big advocate for mulch

eg i mulch my walkways heavy real heavy with mulch 
then
use pine straw mulch on my veggie beds
since the pine straw lets air and moisture through and adds acidity to my soil

for some reason its a struggle getting mulch donations to our community garden
we are picky they dont put stuff in their mulch like treated wood or painted wood or palm fronds etc

recently our new garden manager located a local company that agreed to donate us this big ole 20 yds of compost yesterday

after it was all piled off the truck it looked like and smelled like the texas mulch i used at the country n and in the habitat of humanity landscape

my old black f150 truck would hold 1 cubic yard
so 
this load would be 20 loads of my old truck

i lost no time in mulching my walkways in my garden and the new chicken coop yard

later we will mulch all our walkways in the community garden since its starting to thin out there now

it will hold moisture between our beds and prevent the rain runoff that would flow through our garden if it wasnt heavily mulched

so
mulch your garden
save that moisture
prevent weeds
keep your soil cool in the summer nad warm in the winter
feed your soil as it breaks down

yes 
mulch is a good thing

the organicgreen doctor