Whether
you’re hiking on the mesa or in the mountains Mother Nature has her soils
covered. Look down and you will rarely see bare soil, more often it is covered
with decaying leaves, sticks, branches, and other debris. You will also notice
that most often if you do see bare soil there is nothing growing there!
Seemingly the message is without mulch – life is hard!
All
this decaying plant material serves to protect the soil. It helps retain
moisture, cool, and feed the soil. Bare soil gets hot and rapidly loses its
moisture. This surface layer of decaying plant material feeds the soil as
decomposition releases required plant nutrients back into the soil. If deep
enough this layer also reduces the number of annual weeds that germinate up
through it. All this good stuff also feeds the beneficial soil microorganisms
which associate with the roots of your plants – making them healthier!
Trees
That Please Nursery offers both bagged
and
bulk mulches like Pecan Shell
and
Shredded Wood Mulch.
Come
by the nursery and get some mulch and apply generously to your soils especially around your plants like we do at the nursery!
Photos
& Narrative By:
Stephen Sain
Staff Plant Physiologist
Staff Plant Physiologist
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