Work Smarter, Not Harder ....series

 Today I wanted to share another installment of working smarter, rather than harder. I don't know how often I will post these- but for now I thought of something that I knew would fit perfectly under this title so here we go. 

So this year is the first year I have used mulch for my garden and I just have to say that it has made a huge difference. And I am SO thankful that I finally started using mulch. I had heard people talk about it for years but not until this year did I fully understand that it benefits the garden in a multitude of ways. 

So first of all mulch helps retain the moisture. Here in the south it is pretty important to retain the moisture - especially in the raised beds that I do. When you water your garden the moisture will stay there longer when there is mulch on top of the soil. And I am sure the plants appreciate that in the hot sunshine. 

Another great reason to use mulch is that it is a barrier to weeds. With a good layer of mulch on the soil - it will make it harder for the weeds to grow. And after hours and hours of weeding in the garden this turns out to be a great reason in and of itself to use mulch. 

Mulch also adds back some nutrients into the soil when it breaks down. This year I have basically used this stuff that I found at TSC. This 2.5 cubic feet bale runs $14.99.  

Now last year I started doing something and I am sure I shared it with you all and that is that I started working on leaf mould.  This link should take you to the post about it. Anyway basically I ran my mower over leaves - chopped up the leaves and then they went into the mulch bag on my mower and I poured the stuff into my composters. Now when you use dead leaves - it is a great idea to make sure there are some living things put into the bins as well. If you cut grass at the same time - then this will be great. If not each layer would greatly benefit with some greens things chopped up and added.  I think it is said that this stuff takes about 6 months to a year to compost. Anyway this stuff would make a great mulch. And as it decomposes it would feed the soil as well. 

So by using mulch you can retain moisture longer, you have a weed barrier and also put some nutrtion back into the soil. There could be other things it does as well - if you know of other things be sure and leave a comment - I would love to know. And by using mulch you work smarter, not harder! :O)