Mulching. Mulch is any type of material that is spread 
or laid over the surface of the soil as a covering. It is
used to retain moisture in the soil, suppress weeds,
keep the soil cool and make the garden bed look more
 Straw and Salt Hay are popular mulches for the
attractive. Organic mulches also help improve the
soil’s fertility, as they decompose.
http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenmaintenance/
a/Mulch.htm
Organic Mulches and their Uses
 “Bark mulches are best used around trees, shrubs
and in garden beds where you won’t be doing a lot
of digging, like front walkways and foundation
plantings. These woody mulches don’t mix well into
the soil and it can become a hassle to have to keep
moving them aside to make way for new plants.”
 “Compost and Composted Manure can be used
anywhere, as long as they are relatively well
composted and weed free. You can use them as a
coating of mulch or simply side dress plants with
them during the growing season, to insulate and
give a boost of slow released nutrients.”
 “Grass Clippings are a mixed bag and are best
suited to remote areas of your garden where you
basically want to suppress weeds. Grass clippings,
like most green plant debris with high water
content, decompose very rapidly and in the process
they can get somewhat slimy, with an unpleasant
odor - so use with discretion. Grass clippings also
tend to mat down and not allow water to pass
through.
Ideally you should use a mulching mower and leave
the clippings on the lawn to add fertility to that soil.
However if you bag your grass clippings, don’t
throw them away unless you have used weed killer
or some other pesticide on your lawn. Synthetic
lawn care products can be bad for some flowers
and you certainly don’t want to use them in your
vegetable garden. But untreated grass clippings can
either be dumped into your compost bin or used to
mulch open, unplanted areas.”
 “Newspaper as mulch is becoming more and more
popular. Most newspapers have switched over to
organic dyes, especially for their black & white
sections. Shredded newspapers have been used for
years to keep plant roots moist while shipping.
Layered sheets of newspaper also have great
moisture retention abilities and they act like other
organic mulches as far as suppressing weeds and
controlling soil temperatures. They are also great
for smothering existing grass, to jump start a new
garden bed.
To use as mulch in the garden, spread a layer of 4 -
8 sheets of newspaper around the plants. Moisten
the sheets to keep them in place. On windy days it’s
easier to moisten the sheets before you place them
down. Cover the newspaper with a 1-3 inch layer of
another organic mulch and the weed protection
should last throughout the growing season.”
“Shredded Leaves are nature’s favorite mulch.
Shredded leaves can be used as mulch anywhere
and have the added bonus of being free.”
vegetable garden. They keep the soil and soil
borne diseases from splashing up on lower plant
leaves and make paths less muddy. Straw
decomposes very slowly and will last the entire
growing season. It also makes a nice home for
spiders and other beneficial insects that will
move in and help keep the pest population in
control. And finally, it’s easy to either rake up or
work into the soil when it’s time to plant a new
crop or put the vegetable garden to bed.
http://gardening
According INGO (2005) mulch is any
material or substance spread on the ground to
protect plant roots from heat, cold or drought or
to keep fruit clean.
Mulches can be classified as inorganic
or organic. Inorganic mulches include plastics
and other non-plant materials; whereas, organic
mulches include straw, compost, sawdust and
similar materials. Plastic is the only inorganic
mulch used in vegetable garden.
According to INGO (2005), the
following are the importance of mulching in
vegetable production:
1. Mulching the area will prevent erosion. A thin
layer of mulch on the soil surface specially
sloping areas reduces the washing away of soil
particles by flowing water.
2. It conserves water. Therefore, mulching is
most important when it is impossible to
adequately irrigate newly seeded areas.
3. Proper mulching in summer months keeps the
soil cooler. Soils covered with organic mulches
keep soil below the mulch layer cooler in
summer.
4. Organic mulches enrich the soil as they decay
and provide a better environment for plant
growth. Soils that have high organic matter are
easier to till and better suited to vegetable
gardening.
5. Mulches help plants by gradually increasing
soil fertility. Organic mulches when turned
under and decomposed build the soil’s organic
matter content.
6. Most mulch also provides excellent weed
control. Mulches do not prevent weed seeds to
germinate. However, weed seedlings are
blocked by mulch thick enough to exclude light.
Sangalan and Sangalan (2000) reported
other importance of mulching as follows:
7. Promotion of bacterial life. It has been shown a
mulch layer promotes the micro life of the soil
particularly in the upper layer.
8. A better uptake of nutrients, particularly
potash. The reasons are:
a. The potash content of the mulch layer. The potash
 in the plant straw occurs in readily available form Example, do not use potato vines from spring crop
and easily moves with the rainwater into the root to mulch fall potatoes because the possibility of the
zone. disease is increased.
b. Soils under the mulch layer remains more wet, 3. When the mulch is to be used. Select light-
thus checking potash fixation. colored mulch during the summer to reflect heat.
c. The potash from fertilizer application remains Use dark-colored mulch in early rainy season to
more available for the plants, owing to the more help warm the soil and to permit earlier planting
favorable moisture condition of the upper layer of and hasten early growth.
the soil.
PROCESS
d. The feeding roots of the plants under a mulch layer
grows into the most superficial soil layer where,
Activity 2
especially in clay soils the greater part of the
fertilizer potash is absorbed. There are several sources of organic materials
such as sawdust, rice hull, and dried leaves to be used
9. Mulching reduces the work of cultivation as mulching materials. Gather some and place them in
around the growing plants, thus, cuts the labor your garden.
of weeding to almost nothing. REFLECT AND UNDERSTAND
Mulching materials
Many materials can be used as mulching Activity 3
materials. The following mulching materials
Do some researches about mulching. The
discussed below are good examples:
following questions will guide you in your research
1. Compost is generally the best mulching work.
material for home and school gardens. It is usually 1. What plants need mulching materials?
free of weed seeds and is inexpensive. They are 2. When is the best time to place mulching
just present in the backyard. Apply at least 10 cm materials?
thick as mulch layer. 3. If you use organic mulches, how thick the
mulching materials would be?
2. Straw is short lived and coarse textured. More Summary :
straw is needed for the same effect as compost or
lawn clippings. Place at least 7-8 cm thick of this Mulching could be done organically or
material for better effect. inorganically. Organic mulching is much better than
3. Sawdust is a common mulching material that inorganic mulching because when the organic
can be easily collected. If well manage, it can be mulches decompose help enriching the soil. Organic
good mulch. It can result in a temporary, but sharp,
mulches are readily available and are inexpensive. On
decrease in soil nitrogen. Add a small amount of
garden fertilizer to the soil after applying sawdust the other hand, plastic mulch can be used several
directly to a garden. Even better, add nitrogen to times and easy to apply not like that of the organic.
sawdust, and then compost it before spreading it
on your garden. Mulching conserves soil moisture, decreases soil
4. Plastic is effective mulch if used properly. Use erosion, controls the growth of weeds and decreases
black plastic in the summer to warm the soil. Black labor cost.
plastic keeps light from the soil and prevents
weeds from growing. Clear plastic warms the soil,
but weeds can grow beneath the plastic. Plastic
mulches can be used not only once, but, the
disadvantage is plastic mulch cannot be turned
under the soil at the end of the season.

2. Quality harvests are obtained when the soil is

covered with mulch materials. Mulches prevent the
direct contact of garden fruits with the soil keeping
them clean and other damages.

Selection of mulching materials

The following should be considered in
selecting mulch materials.

1. Cost of the material. Do not spend money on

mulching material when there are suitable and
readily available materials in your locality.
2. The crop you plan to mulch. Never use
material from the crop that is to be protected.