Mulching vegetable gardens help to keep moisture in and keep the weeds out!
Patuxent Materials, Inc can help with summertime landscaping in one word: Mulch, Mulch, Mulch! The dog days of summer bring scorching temperatures which can lead to plant and tree stress.
After spending valuable amounts of time and money on your landscaping and gardening, you’ll want to save them during these stressful summer days! Mulching is essential to retain the moisture needed for growth of the vegetation and nourishment for the root system.
The best time-saving measure a gardener can take is applying mulch. This goes for every garden site, from vegetable garden to flower bed. Mulched gardens are healthier, more weed free, and more drought-resistant then unmulched gardens, so you’ll spend less time watering, weeding, and fighting pest problems.
Mulches are either organic or inorganic material placed on the soil around plants. Mulches perform a number of useful functions. They protect against soil erosion by breaking the force of heavy rains; they help prevent soil compaction; they discourage the growth of weeds; and they reduce certain disease problems.
Mulched flower garden bed with red dyed mulch
Mulches are insulators, making it possible to keep the soil warmer during cool weather and cooler during warm weather. Organic mulches also improve the soil texture. Sometimes mulches can improve the appearance of a vegetable or flower garden by giving it a neater, more finished look. Mulched flower garden bed with red dyed mulch. Red mulch as been used widely by many gardeners for use around tomato plants, as the red color is said to help production of tomato plants.
Your plants will need less water if you use a mulch, increasing the time that plants can go between watering. When the soil dries out, plants slow their growth — or stop growing altogether. Swift, steady growth is important for the best-tasting fruits and vegetables. Mulches keep the soil evenly moist and your plants thriving.
Mulched vegetable garden with organic straw, not hay, which has seeds
Choosing the type of mulch will depend on what your preference and budget is. Organic mulches are generally less expensive and can come in a variety of material types, colors and cost. Patuxent Materials’ Crofton Retail Yard has bulk organic mulches in stock for delivery or picking up. Some of the bulk organic mulches available at the Patuxent Materials Crofton Retail Yard are double shredded hardwood mulch as well as several dyed mulches as well as straw bales, see photo to the left. Mulched vegetable garden with organic straw, but not hay, which has seeds throughout, so be sure to get the correct bale, or you’ll have hay growing in your garden which will not only be a mess but also rob your veggies of important nutrients. Patuxent Materials is also an authorized distributor of bulk LeafGro®, which is great for your organic garden soil conditioning. Organic mulches are typically the choice of most vegetable and flower gardeners, however, there are some instances where inorganic mulches are more practical.
Crushed stone walkway and wood mulch planting beds- combining organic and inorganic mulches
There are many bulk inorganic mulches to choose from including river jacks, crushed stone or gravel. All will help to keep weeds at bay and to help retain moisture to the soil and vegetation. Inorganic mulches are typically used in pathways, around flower or shrub gardens and can beautify a landscape. Although inorganic mulches are typically more expensive at first, a huge benefit of the inorganic mulches is the fact that they do not decompose, which means you will not need to replace it regularly.
The colors of the river jack or stones can range from brick red and grey to tan and white, so you can choose a color that matches your landscape or your home. You’ll also need to choose what size mulch you’d like to use, from a small pea gravel size to a larger golf ball size or larger. Choosing which type, colors and sizes really depends on the type of landscape or vegetation you are mulching and the overall appearance you are trying achieve. Combining inorganic and organic mulches bring a decorative touch and a useful way to use both, such as the crushed stone pathway in a garden, see the photo to the left.
Patuxent Materials can help you to figure the amount of materials you need for your project and deliver it to your home or visit the Crofton Retail Yard to pick up yourself, either way, you are on your way to making your garden and landscape more beautiful and your plants a little healthier.
