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Mulch
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In agriculture and gardening, is a protective cover placed over the soil, primarily to modify the effects of the local climate. A wide variety of natural and synthetic materials are used.
Purposes
Mulches are used for various agricultural and gardening purposes, they are applied to the soil surface.
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Encyclopedia
In agriculture and gardening, is a protective cover placed over the soil, primarily to modify the effects of the local climate. A wide variety of natural and synthetic materials are used.
Purposes
Mulches are used for various agricultural and gardening purposes, they are applied to the soil surface. Properly used, they benefit plant growth and minimize garden labor. The main functions of mulches are the conservation of soil moisture and the moderation of soil temperature. They moderate internal soil temperatures by retaining heat from the day and radiating it to the soil at night during spring and fall; in the winter mulches moderate soil warming during the day, limiting the stress plants undergo during soil freezing and thawing cycles. They also are used prevent frost heaving of unestablished plants in winter. During summer, they keep soil cool by blocking direct sunlight exposure of the soil surface. Mulches are used to block evaporation of water from the soil, slowing down soil drying. They also help control the growth of weeds, blocking sunlight and/or smothering weed seedlings under layers of material. Mulch also reflects sunlight back from the ground to the leaves of plants, they also provide a clean and dry surface for ground-lying fruits. They prevent soil erosion from heavy rains, prevent surface run-off of water, and prevent the direct impact of hard rains on the soil surface. Some mulches improve soil texture, adding humus. Organic mulches may add nutrients to the soil as they breakdown. Biodegradable mulches, as they decay, are incorporated into the soil were they provide air spaces and surfaces for fungi and root growth.
Materials
Materials used as mulches vary and depend on a number of factors. Use takes into consideration availability, cost, appearance, the affect it has on the soil - including chemical reactions and pH, durability, combustibility, rate of decomposition, how clean it is - some can contain weed seeds or plant pathogens.
A variety of materials are used as mulch:
- Organic residues (cow manure): grass clippings, leaves, hay, straw, shredded bark, whole bark nuggets, sawdust, shells, wood chips, shredded newspaper, cardboard, wool, etc. Many of these materials also act as a direct composting system, such as the mulched clippings of a mulching lawn mower, or other organics applied as sheet composting.
- Compost: This should be fully composted material to avoid possible phytotoxicity problems, and the weed seed must have been eliminated, otherwise the mulch will actually produce weed cover.
- Rubber mulch: made from recycled tire rubber.
- Plastic mulch: crops grow through slits or holes in thin plastic sheeting. This method is predominant in large-scale vegetable growing, with millions of acres cultivated under plastic mulch worldwide each year (disposal of plastic mulch is cited as an environmental problem).
- Rock and gravel can also be used as a mulch. In cooler climates the heat retained by rocks may extend the growing season.
Organic mulches
Organic mulches decay over time, and are temporary. The way a particular organic mulch decomposes, and reacts to wetting by rain and dew, affects its usefulness.
Organic mulches can negatively effect plant growth; mulches can be decomposed rapidly by bacteria and fungi, which require nitrogen and remove it from the surrounding soil. Organic mulches can mat into a barrier that blocks water and air flow between the soil and the atmosphere, they can wick water from the soil to the surface - causing the soil the dry out.
Commonly available organic mulches include:
- Leaves from deciduous trees, which drop their foliage in the fall. They tend to be dry and blow around in the wind, so are often chopped or shredded before application. As they decompose they adhere to each other but also allow water and moisture to seep down to the soil surface. Thick layers of entire leaves, especially of Maples and Oaks, can form a soggy mat in winter and spring which can impede the new growth of plants and lawn grass. Dry leaves are often used as winter mulches to protect plants from freezing and thawing in areas with cold winters, and removed in the spring.
- Grass clippings, from mowed lawns are sometimes collected and used elsewhere as mulch. Grass clippings are dense and tend to mat down, so are mixed with tree leaves or rough compost to convert them into a mulch that has aeration and to facilitate their decomposition without smelly putrefaction. Fresh grass clippings can damage plants when they rot, their rotting often produces a damaging buildup of trapped heat. They are often dried thoroughly before application, which mediates against rapid decomposition and excessive heat generation. The harvesting of fresh green grass clippings is relatively high in nitrate content, and as a mulch much of that nitrate is returned to the soil which can be utilized by other plants, but the routine removal of glass clippings from the lawn results in nitrogen deficiency for the lawn.
- Peat moss or sphagnum peat, is long lasting and packaged, making it convent and popular as a mulch. When wetted and dried, it can form a dense crust that does not allow water to soak in. When dry it can also burn, producing a smoldering fire. It is sometimes mixed with pine needles to produce a mulch that is friable. It can also lower the Ph of the soil surface, making it useful as a mulch under acid loving plants.
- Wood chips, are a byproduct of the pruning of trees by arborists, utilities and parks; they are used to dispose of bulky waste. Tree branches and large stems are rather coarse after chipping and tend to be used as a mulch at least three inches thick. The chips are used to conserve soil moisture, moderate soil temperature and suppress weed growth. Freshly produced chips from green recently living woody plants consumes nitrate as they are decay, this is often off set with a light application of a high-nitrate fertilizer. Wood chips are most often used under trees and shrubs, when used around soft stemmed plants an unmulched zone is left around the plant stems to prevent stem rot or other possible diseases. They are often used to mulch trails, because they are readably produced with little additional cost outside of the normal disposal cost of tree maintenance.
- Bark chips, of various grades are produced from the outer corky bark layer of timber trees. Sizes vary from thin shredded strands to large coarse blocks. The finer types are very attractive but have a large exposed surface area that leads to quicker decay. Layers two or three inches deep are usually used, bark is relativity inert and its decay does not demand soil nitrates.
- Straw mulch or field hay or salt hay are lightweight and normally sold in compressed bales. They have an unkempt look and are used in vegetable gardens and as a winter covering. They are biodegradable and neutral in pH. They have good moisture retention and weed controlling properties but also are more likely to be contaminated with weed seeds. Salt hay is less likely to have weed seeds than field hay.
Application
Mulch is usually applied towards the beginning of the growing season, and may be reapplied as necessary. It serves initially to warm the soil by helping it retain heat. This allows early seeding and transplanting of certain crops, and encourages faster growth. As the season progresses, the mulch stabilizes temperature and moisture, and prevents sunlight from germinating weed seed.
Plastic mulch used in large-scale commercial production is laid down with a tractor-drawn or standalone layer of plastic mulch. This is usually part of a sophisticated mechanical process, where raised beds are formed, plastic is rolled out on top, and seedlings are transplanted through it. Drip irrigation is often required, with drip tape laid under the plastic, as plastic mulch is impermeable to water.
In home gardens and smaller farming operations, organic mulch is usually spread by hand around emerged plants. For materials like straw and hay, a shredder may be used to chop up the material. Organic mulches are usually piled quite high, six inches (152 mm) or more, and settle over the season.
In some areas of the United States, such as central Pennsylvania and northern California, mulch is often referred to as "tanbark", even by manufacturers and distributors. In these areas, the word "mulch" is used specifically to refer to very fine tanbark or peat moss.
Mulch made with wood can contain or feed termites, so care must be taken about not placing mulch too close to houses or building that can be damaged by those insects. Some mulch manufacturers recommend putting mulch several inches away from buildings.
Sour mulch
Mulch should normally smell like freshly cut wood, but sometimes develops a toxicity that causes it to smell like vinegar, ammonia, sulfur or silage. This happens when material with ample nitrigen content is not rotated often enough and it forms pockets of increased decomposition. When this occurs, the process may become anaerobic and produce these phytotoxic materials in small quantities. Once exposed to the air, the process quickly reverts to an aerobic process, but these toxic materials may be present for a period of time. If the mulch is placed around plants before the toxicity has had a chance to dissipate, then the plants could very likely be damaged or killed depending on their hardiness. Plants that are predominantly low to the ground or freshly planted are the most susceptible, and the phytotoxicity may prevent germination of some seeds.
If sour mulch is applied and there is plant kill, the best thing to do is to water the mulch heavily. Water dissipates the chemicals faster and refreshes the plants. Removing the offending mulch may have little effect, because by the time plant kill is noticed, most of the toxicity is already dissipated. While testing after plant kill will not likely turn up anything, a simple pH check may reveal high acidity, in the range of 3.8 to 5.6 instead of the normal range of 6.0 to 7.2. Finally, placing a bit of the offending mulch around another plant to check for plant kill will verify if the toxicity has departed. If the new plant is also killed, then sour mulch is probably not the problem.
Living mulch
Living mulches are plants sown to grow close to the ground, under the main crop, to slow the development of weeds and provide other benefits of mulch. They are usually fast-growing plants that continue growing with the main crops. By contrast, cover crops are incorporated into the soil or killed with herbicides. However, living mulches too may need to be mechanically or chemically killed eventually to prevent competition with the main crop (Brandsaeter et al. 1998, Tharp and Kells, 2001).
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