Are you thinking about mulching but you’re not sure of the advantages of mulching your garden?
While it might seem like an expensive and large garden job, mulching your garden is worth the effort and money and will keep your garden thriving for longer and save you from a lot of garden maintenance.
In this blog, I share 6 advantages of mulching your garden- some might even surprise you!
Mulch controls weed growth
One of the best advantages of mulching your garden is weed control.
Having a thick layer of mulch in your garden makes it harder for weeds to grow through, which means you spend less time weeding your garden. Now that’s a huge bonus!
The mulch prevents sunlight from getting through to the soil underneath, which means that weeds struggle to grow.
It’s a good idea to top up your mulch every year or two because often as the ground sinks or wind blows, your mulch levels might drop.
Mulch retains moisture in the ground
When your soil is mulched, it’s harder for water and moisture to evaporate. This keeps your soil moist and healthy and means that you won’t need to water your garden as much.
This is especially important during summer when the weather is hot and water evaporates quickly. The mulch retains the water so that you’re not constantly watering and seeing your water bill increase!
Mulch prevents soil erosion
Soil erodes when it gets washed away or even blown away in the wind. If you live in a windy area you might notice this.
Soil erosion from rainwater especially during wet months can be a problem because it means you’re having to top up the soil so that it’s at a reasonable level. By mulching your garden, the mulch acts as a protective barrier so that the soil doesn’t erode.
Mulch helps retain the soil’s nutrients
Heavy rain causes nutrients from soil to erode, which impacts on your plants and garden as it’s not getting the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
Mulch in your garden, as we’ve already mentioned, stops soil erosion which means the soil’s nutrients aren’t being washed away and instead are doing their job to keep your garden healthy.
Mulch also adds extra nutrients to your soil.
Mulch protects your plant’s roots from the weather
Extreme weather temperatures such as heat and cold can impact on the health of your plant’s roots. A good layer of mulch around your plants protects the roots so that they’re not suffering from heat or frost damage. This is important for flowering plants especially those that are delicate and don’t do well in extreme weather.
Mulch adds to the street appeal of your home
By preventing weed growth and soil erosion, mulch has the advantage of helping your front garden appear lovely.
When you’re adding new mulch, the vibrant color and fresh smell of the mulch keeps your garden looking new and vibrant!
This is a good idea to do if you’re about to put your house on the market- an attractive hard adds to the house’s appeal.
Mulch in your garden gives the impression that someone is home
When sharing the advantages of mulching your garden, home security isn’t something that you think of right away!
However a mulched garden that doesn’t have weed growth and looks new and healthy, gives the impression that someone is living in the home.
An unkempt garden, especially one with unmanicured lawns and lots of weed growth, makes the home look neglected and often leaves burglars clues that no one is home or living there.
This is especially important during summer when people are vacationing, or at Thanksgiving and Christmas time when people are away.
Not something you would think about straight away, but it makes sense!
A summary of the advantages of mulching your garden
If you’ve been worried about whether it’s worth the money mulching your garden, you can see from the 6 advantages I’ve shared, that the money you spend on mulch is worth it.
You spent so much money on plants that you want to make sure that they stay healthy. Throwing away dead plants is a waste of money, so any mulch you buy for your plants will help them thrive for longer.
Extra non-garden benefits such as adding to the street appeal of your home and protecting it from burglars makes it even more enticing to mulch your garden!
