You need to consider many things when you are finding the perfect garden mulch for your landscape. We can judge distinct types of mulch by studying their reference points from one another.

Before we delve deeper, let’s try to answer a basic question a landscaping beginner would raise: How does garden mulch affect soil pH? More particularly, would the soil pH of your garden be diminished to some extent when you apply mulch?

The pH composition of your soil has a determining effect on the well-being of your plants. It’s logical that many people, including myself, have expressed unease on how garden mulch selection affects the soil pH, since it does influences the ground as it decomposes. Does using pine needles in your landscape mulch lead to your garden soil withering away? How about gardening mulch with leaves from oak trees?

Many people have thought garden mulch has minor effect on soil pH. Such is the case, when your garden mulch is made up of oak leaves, it starts out acidic when its green, but decays more and more as an alkaline in the end. In addition, based on latest gardening journals, garden mulch comprised with pine needles softens the soil pH to imperceptible degree, at any rate.

  With the concern of the reasonable influence of garden mulch at a distance, let’s take into consideration other things that relates to garden mulch options — some of which are calculable, others of which trimmed down to personal inclinations in landscaping. We would have to set things up clearly if only to make a decision, since a garden mulch can do well in one group  only to perform unsatisfactorily in another. Two distinct purposes of garden mulch on which a beginner will find little information in this article are weed suspension and erosion control. They have not been included for a simple fact: a garden mulch done perfectly will eliminate weeds and erosion altogether.

These are the three parameters in our discussion.

    * “Insulation value in summer” is judged by the degree to which the garden mulch can keep the soil beneath cool and moist. A notable summer insulator will both lessen your need for watering and it guards the roots against severe heat.

    *   The argument of whether to get rid of the garden mulch or not when springtime comes is based on the fact that substantial garden mulches can stifle sprouting spring shrubs. Apparently, this is not a factor for lively plants above the ground. But even the latter can profit from having the soil around their roots warmed by the spring sun, a process facilitated by the temporary removal of the garden mulch. With regards to plastic sheet mulch, this factor is non-relevant since the material have holes that gives access to the plants.

    * “Nourishment and aeration afforded to underlying soil by decomposition” is a standard used to distinguish the different landscape mulches. Nonetheless do not be mislead by the “nourishment” word, thinking that compost and garden mulch are interchangeable.

I have been a Calgary Landscaping Contractor for many years. We specialize in Calgary Gardens and Calgary Landscape Design.  These techniques work anywhere in the world as well as in my area.

Written by: Custom Stone and Waterscapes ‎3829 Parkhill Place SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2W6 (403) 870-1142 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (403) 870-1142