M IS FOR MULCH

I can't stress enough the importance of mulch in my garden. The carpet around the fruit trees, sugar cane & pea straw on the veggies and lucerne hay on the herbs.

It is a home, shelter and food for many beneficial organisms & insects. It creates a balance in my garden, it becomes part of a natural cycle as the plant materials break down to feed the living plants and their neighbouring critters. It really is wondrous to watch & it's organic gardening at its most fundamental.

When I plant potatoes (spuds) I use the lasagne method. After a couple of weeks I like to lift a corner of the mulch to see how the spuds are doing. Needless to say they are nice and cosy in there alongside all these other creatures who are busy chewing away at the composting materials and creating fertiliser for them.

This was how I first really understood how important it is. I have since read quite a bit on organic and biodynamic gardening and permiculture. All of the authors bang on about mulching but it's not until you actually see how it breaks down and how much of a food source it is for your plants and for the insects, worms and bacteria who also create nutrients for your plants that you appreciate how important it really is.

The other bonus is that watering your plants is reduced as the mulch keeps the soil moist. I have often come home from work on a stinking hot day and with trepidation have opened the gate to the patch expecting devastation and wilted plants only to see tranquillity and plants that are standing tall.

No weeding either, most weeds need bare soil to get a foot hold in a garden. Mulching thickly is a great way to stop weeds from even thinking about germinating. It also makes it easier to see if there is the odd persistent weed.

The only negative that I can think of is the mulch also creates a buffet banquet for the birds. I usually net off the areas that I don't want the birds to get into but to be honest I feel bad about it. They are part of the chain too, I have been known to go in after a particularly active blackbird and put all the mulch back onto the beds. Yes I swear, yes I threaten but at the end of the day if Mr Blackbird has made a few withdrawals he would also have made a few deposits – all is fair in food and fertiliser.