Generally speaking, mulch is anything that is spread around or over soil as cover. It has become an important part of gardening and landscaping. Through the years, however, mulch has been redefined to include the surfacing of playgrounds, parks, and horse arenas.
It's become a multi-purpose material used to enhance soil properties for growing plants, to beautifying landscapes, through to cushioning potential falls in playgrounds, recreational parks, and horse arenas.
It's become such a big business that the use of mulch is not without its share of controversies, which we will get to a little further down in this eBook. At this point, a closer look at the different types of mulches and their uses can tell us more about their origins and uses.
*Please note that links to resources further explaining certain terms and concepts can be found throughout the text.
A. Types of Mulches
Certain kinds of mulches have been around since gardening became a widespread practice. Of course, organic mulches have existed longer than their synthetic counterparts, since the former can be easily sourced from nature.
Organic mulches decay and decompose over time. They are made from natural or biodegradable materials. Synthetic mulches either do not decompose or else do so very slowly, and are usually the products of industrial recycling and manufacturing.
Wood is a popular mulch option. It typically comes in the form of chips, either as coarse byproducts of tree pruning, or as more uniformly processed byproducts of untreated timber.
Grass clippings are collected and used as mulch after a lawn is mowed or trimmed. They are usually mixed with other composting materials like fallen leaves and soil.
Leaves are raked and then spread over garden soil to act as mulch. Because they are light enough to get blown by the wind, they are often shredded into more manageable pieces.
Straw is collected into hay bales and spread onto the ground as winter covering for gardens.
Rock mulches can come from pebbles, river stones, and gravel. The variety of sizes, colors, and textures of this material allow for many gardening and landscaping possibilities.
Paper and cardboard are common recyclable mulching materials. They can be soaked in water to increase their weight, and then applied as the base layer for heavier mulching materials.
Bark is a practical organic mulching option since it's readily available in landscapes and gardens with trees. They are typically used in layers.
Other common organic mulches include peat moss, sawdust, and pine needles.
Plastic mulch is used to suppress weeds in gardens and landscaping. It also helps regulate irrigation for large-scale vegetable gardens. Currently, biodegradable or compostable plastic mulches are being created to respond to environmental issues and awareness, and in accordance with ASTM standards.
Recycled rubber is fast gaining popularity as an alternative sustainable mulching material. It is made from either shredded old tires or sneaker soles.
Landscape fabrics or plastics are also known as "weed cloth" that are spread over garden soil and pinned down. They are designed to work with organic materials and can last for a decade.
B. Popular Uses for Mulch
As diverse as mulching materials are, so have their uses become. Over time, mulch has evolved from just being garden material to becoming playground surfacing, horse arena infill, and even military training surfaces.
Gardening Garden mulch, whether it is natural or synthetic, is used to improve moisture retention in soil so that plants can benefit from it. It's also designed to reduce or prevent weed growth altogether. Mulch is also an effective soil insulator. Playground/Athletic Arenas Safety is a top concern in playground surfacing, and mulch can efficiently address this. Different kinds of mulches offer different levels of fall-from-a-height shock absorption and protection. As for athletic tracks, rubber mulch also offers the kind of resiliency that can improve a runner's performance while protecting feet and legs from hard impact. Landscaping In landscaping, mulches are used to add visual impact and decorative appeal to homes, businesses, and public places. The many textures, shapes, and colors of mulch make this possible. Horse Arena One of the surprising new uses for mulch is as equestrian infill. Shock absorption and better performance are the main reasons for its use as horse arena surfacing. Rubber mulch in particular offers these benefits.