A good mulch is especially important in the fall, not only to put the garden to bed for the winter, but also for its effects on the soil and the garden next spring.
Mulch is one of the gardener's best friends and one of the finest tools the gardener or groundskeeper possesses. It reduces labor and conserves water, and at its best can improve the looks and health of a garden, too.
Our use of mulches can be perfected by knowledge of their characteristics. Here are some of the most popular ones for use in the fall, and their effects on and uses in the garden.
Undoubtedly, compost is the Cadillac of mulches. Its beneficial effects on the soil are legendary, and it makes the gardener feel that he has, like Rumpelstiltskin, spun straw into gold. But
gardeners know that, like most of the best things in life, there is never enough of it to go around. Bulbs and flowering shrubs will benefit the most from compost applied in the fall.
For ornamentals, the leading mulch must almost certainly be shredded or chipped tree bark. Both look neat and have a nice, dark-brown color, but there are important differences.
Shredded hardwood bark is slower to break down in the soil, and absorbs many nutrients while doing so -- nutrients that would otherwise go to your plants. Its pH also tends to be acidic, and while some plants may relish this (e.g. azaleas, rhododendrons and blueberries), many do not. If you are using shredded bark, it is a good idea to check the pH of the soil and add lime to correct it if necessary.
Bark chips and nuggets, on the other hand, are usually pine bark. These are softer, break down more readily and are often easier to distribute neatly around smaller plants, like annual and perennial flowers and bulbs. As with all organic mulches, it also adds a nice tilth, or fitness to support growth, to the soil after it's been used for a few years (supplemented with judicious applications of fertilizer, of course).
Cedar chips are a mulch one occasionally sees at garden centers. I have used it in a pinch as a cover in winter for ornamentals and a vegetable garden. It keeps its light color for a long time, breaks down very slowly and probably is dandy used in permanent pathways. After two years, I am still unearthing nearly pristine pieces of it from my vegetable beds.
Leaves in the wind
