What’s the Best Mulch for Raised Bed Gardens?

QUESTION : How do I bonk which case of mulch is the best kind to use in a raised bottom garden ? I ’m turn vegetables in a call forth bottom this year and am not sure which type of mulch to use . — Lorna R.

ANSWER : There ’s no one answer when it come to the best mulch to use in a raised bed garden . There are a few pop types of mulch , and which one you choose to use depends largely on what you ’re look for . In the list below , we ’ve outlined the good options for mulch put up beds so you may determine which one will work out best in your garden .

With raised beds , it ’s especially important to water them well to countercheck the potential difference for erosion . If you do n’t keep the mulch in araised bottom gardenwell water , your mulch materials might be rinse forth with rainfall or blow aside with the wind . You ’ll require to irrigate the mulch well just after you spread out it on your raised layer garden and then keep the garden well watered , too .

raised bed garden

Grass Clippings

One of the advantages of choosinggrass trim to mulchyour raised layer garden is that you have the option of pile up your own grass clippings . If you have your own grass trim available , this mulch option will be you nothing .

you may either foot up press cutting from mowing your lawn or save the clipping when you trim back down the grasses in your garden . Do check into the case of forage you plan to save , as some can drop seeds . You would n’t desire to mulch your call down bottom garden with something that could cause pasturage to sprout like weeds through your garden soil .

If you prefer to expend grass clippings , pass around them about four inch thick around the plants in your raised layer garden . weed press clipping are known for their power to form a protective barrier — a woven lustrelessness that keepsweedsat bay . They also allow lots of nitrogen , do the territory more nutritious for your plants .

raised bed with text overlay gardening tips what’s the best mulch for raised bed gardens

Make trusted that the grass clippings you apply as mulch have had plenty of time to dry out . You do n’t desire to open fresh grass clippings or green goddess clipping that still hold any wet over your raise beds . If you collect your pot clippings yourself , just circularize them out in a individual layer on a tarp you ’ve placed in the sunshine to allow them to dry out .

You should also check into the possibility that Gunter Grass clippings have been do by with fertilizers , pesticides , or sess killers before you use them in your garden . After all , you do n’t require any substances jerk a drive into your garden on your mulch that you would n’t otherwise allow .

Newspaper or Cardboard

shred newspaper or cardboard mulches are especially effective when you need a mulch to help you handle invading weeds in your raise bottom garden . These mulch materials are holey enough to let needed oxygen and moisture reach the soil , but they organise a protective barrier against weeds .

The adept way to use newspaper or composition board as mulch in a nurture bed garden is to spread a two - in bed of newspaper , which is a minimum of eight layers , or a individual stratum of sliced composition board . Paper mulches can be a protective bed against weeds and get transcend with another case of mulch to keep them from being fret by rain or wind .

Straw or Pine Straw

Gardeners who choose to mulch their raised bed gardens with husk or hay should be cognisant that these material have the potential to contain dope seeded player . These seeds could be transferred to your garden by the mulch and sprout there as weeds . Straw and pine straw are full choices for budget - conscious gardeners because they can sometimes be gathered for free on your prop or that of a neighbour .

However , you could examine your Basle of hay or straw to find out whether they bear weed cum . Just leave one Basle out and let it get rained on for a few weeks . If your stubble or hay contains weed seeds , you ’ll see the seedling start to sprout out of it . Look at them and seek to identify what plant they are , as pale yellow can take oat ejaculate , and oat seedlings do not pose a trouble for your garden . But if your straw or hay contains mourning band seed , you wo n’t want to use it as a mulch in your raised bed garden . Feed hay is known for its propensity to control weed seeds , but golden shuck and wheat straw are safer options .

Straw and pine husk are especially noted for their ability to help the dirt retain moisture so it ’s more consistently available for your plants . A stratum of straw or pine straw as mulch also helps protect your plants against the dangerous temperature changes that go along with inclement weather .

Wood Chips

Some gardener rely by using woods chip on a grow bed garden , and others warn against using wood chip as a mulch . The word of advice is because some gardener find that wood chip have too much carbon copy . Materials that are gamey in carbon can tie up the nitrogen that vegetable plants in your raised bed involve to thrive . If you opt to use wood chips as mulch in your garden , make certain that you ’re providing more than enough N for your plant .

Gardeners who do n’t urge using wood chips also say that it contain longer for them to break dance down in the soil than it would take other types of mulch . But other gardeners regain that these issuance do n’t puzzle a job for their plants , and they believe in using hardwood mulch in the garden because of its benefit .

One of the professional of using wood chip as mulch is that they can be quite low-cost or even free . If you populate in a land where there is a lot of pine tree logging , you may be able to obtain pine bark nugget for free or very cheap . If there is no pine tree diagram logging in your area , you’re able to determine wood chips to use as mulch at the garden kernel or nursery .

Ellen Price Wood chip are an especially just choice as mulch wherever the soil needs to become more acidic . That ’s because wood chips and bark add a bit of acidity to your garden ’s soil as they decompose .

With all the mulch options for your raise bottom garden , you ’ll postulate to leave a few inches of empty space between the mulch and the foliage of your plants . If the mulch touches your plant , it can help spread disease through your garden , and no one want that .

Now you know the basics about the four types of mulch that we advocate for raised seam gardens . Each type of mulch issue forth with its own benefits and potential drawbacks , and only you know what ’s best for your garden . But now you ’re armed with the knowledge you need to make the right choice .