The sun has an uncanny ability to rob water from your garden soil.
Especially in the heat of summer, soil needs protection from the sun’s powerful evaporative rays. Imagine standing in full sun in 100 degree heat while wearing no clothes for 12 straight hours. Now think how your soil must feel.
Mulch is your soil’s clothing.
These are the 11 essential mulches every gardener should know about to up water retention in their soil.
- Dried Leaves
A nearly perfect mulch.
Dried leaves don’t decompose completely over the course of a few years. In the process of doing so, they add great bacterial activity, soil tilth, and organic matter to your soil.
- Straw
Spreadability is what you’re paying for.
And you’re not paying much. Straw sifts through your fingers easily and runs around a measly $10 a bale.
- Compost
The perfect mulch…if you have the time or money (you’ll need one or the other).
Compost is basically a composite of all other mulches. Good store-bought compost comes packed with beneficial microbes and a big price tag. Make as much of this at home as you can. You can use our free compost recipe log below.
- Pine Needles
Oft-forgotten, pine needles are usually free and break down very slowly over time.
They make a great mulch for a low-maintenance garden. Just be sure to not mix them into the top layers of soil. Their acidity can throw off ph levels and create tough conditions for your plants.
- Grass Clippings
Like straw, but rich in nitrogen.
Ask your neighbors for theirs but make sure they haven’t been sprayed with herbicides!
- Cardboard
An excellent decomposable weed-mat.
Cardboard is a favorite for no-till gardeners as they enable you to start a new garden just about anywhere without fear of weeds. Just be sure to cover EVERY gap in the pieces—weeds will find their way through.
- Burlap
Limited by availability but still useful.
If you can get your hands on it, burlap serves as an organic, (functionally) non-decomposable material that will occultate like none-other.
- Cover Crop
Living mulch!
Depending on your climate and conditions, cover crop can be used for a variety of purposes. Nitrogen fixation, biomass accumulation, soil-stabilization, etc.
- Wool
Like grass, but decomposes slower.
Okay, not too much like grass other than it’s nitrogen content. Wool is an excellent choice for outdoor potted plants and garden beds in need of some warmth in early spring.
- Wood Chips
Only one rule: don’t mix them into your soil!
Otherwise, wood chips decompose slowly, improve water retention, and are often attainable for free if you can schmooze your local arborist into a chip drop. (Just be ready to take a lot all at once).
- Tarps
My least favorite (plastic, boo) despite their effectiveness.
Tarps have their place in the world of mulch. That place is usually on top of a weedy patch of yard that you want to grow there next season.
In summary, there are no shortage of options for mulches this summer. Which is the best? Obviously compost. Here’s how to save some time and money by making your own finished compost in 30 days or less.