Photo credit: Amber Burst
Using Straw for Mulch in the Garden
by
If you are starting out in backyard gardening like I am, you may find it difficult to figure out what kinds of materials you need and where to get them. I know I have.
To this point, all of my raised bed gardens have been bare dirt. I know this isn’t optimal; I have read up on all the garden blogs that say you desperately need to mulch your gardens for the following reasons:
- Mulch keeps the soil temperature more even (warmer in winter months and cooler in summer months)
- Mulch helps retain moisture in the soil
- Mulch keeps weeds from being able to germinate
- Mulch adds nutrients back into the soil as it decomposes
But I was faced with the challenge of what to use for mulch. All of the mulch I see in stores is meant to put around landscaping, not raised vegetable beds. A search online yielded tons of blog posts singing the praises of grass clippings and dried leaves. But you see, I live in an area that is going through a severe drought. I don’t have a lawn to be able to use grass clippings. I don’t have that many trees to be able to use dead leaves. The trees I do have are Eucalyptus and Peppercorn, neither of which would be good for use in a garden. So it seems my best, most responsible option is to use straw.
Read the full article: Amber Burst
You must be logged in to post a comment.