Mulch is a non living soil covering. Keeping the soil covered does a few things.
o Slows water droplets before they hit the soil giving it more time to sink in.
o Provides a home for burrowing insects that make holes the water can travel through to permeate the soil. The insects also eat the mulch and bury the digested organic matter in the soil sequestering carbon and making fertilizer. It can also provide a home for beneficial crawlies such as spiders that eat plant pests.
o Shades the soil from the sun. The sun breaks down organic matter in the soil, releasing it as CO2. The heat also makes it difficult for roots to flourish. Shading the soil keeps the roots cool and keeps CO2 sequestered in the soil.
On our farm we mulch by cutting our cover crops and fence line and feeding it to our goats.
When the goats are done we spread the mulch on the garden providing a good fertilizer and covering the ground.
For sensitive plants the mixture needs to compost for a few weeks so it is not as “hot”. During the dry season we fill the trenches alongside our crops in the low land to conserve moisture. When the rains start we dig the compost out of the ditches,
feed the grubs to our chickens,
and mound the compost.
The raised beds and ditches provide drainage so our crops don’t drown in the lowland.
