Making the Most Out of Mulch

When most people think of mulch, they think of the chunky woodchips surrounding the base of a flowerbed. However, mulch comes in many forms and types. Each type of mulch comes with different benefits for your Burlington lawn maintenance. Nutri-Lawn Burlington understands the importance of knowing the facts before deciding if it's right for your lawn care. To learn from your Nutri-Lawn Burlington lawn maintenance services professionals, read on.

General benefits of mulch

As mentioned, different mulches are going to have different benefits for your soil. However, there are several overall benefits of mulch. The most common mulch benefit for Burlington lawn maintenance is the weed prevention. Mulch hinders the ability of plants to grow. So when you put it around your desired plants, it blocks out weed growth.

Second, mulch ensures the stability of soil temperatures and moisture levels. Mulch acts as an insulator, preventing water from evaporating, and stopping too much heat from leaving or entering the soil. This means that in harsh winters, your plants are less likely to freeze, while in hot summers, your plants are going to stay cooler longer.

Finally, some mulch varieties decompose to become a fertilizer for your garden. Certain mulches are nutrient rich, and because they are natural, will break down with time. This can make a great addition to your topdressing and fertilizing programs from Nutri-Lawn Burlington lawn maintenance services.

Organic mulch varieties

Mulches range from shredded rubber to grass clippings. What variety you use will depend on your climate, your plant types, and your budget. For instance, grass clippings are an affordable option recommended by Nutri-Lawn Burlington, as they are free, full of nutrients, and quick to apply. However, with grass clippings, you need to make sure you only add about an inch at a time, renew the layers often, and ensure the grass hasn't begun to seed, which will create a grass growth in your garden.

Other organic options are leaves, peat moss, and compost. Leaves, like grass, are best used when seedless or else you'll find germinating seeds and weeds in your garden, which entirely removes the benefits. However, they are soft and offer nutrients while decaying, as well as assisting heavily in retaining moistures.

Peat moss, though adaptable to many different garden types, can be pricey. If you have the money, it will offer a cleaner look for your garden than you'll get with any of the others. Make sure it isn't dried out, however, as it is like oil to water when deprived of moisture.

Compost is easy to make at home, chock full of nutrients, and can be used on pretty much any garden. You will want to make sure that you're careful with it in contact to plants, though, as it can burn the plants. Unfortunately, weeds may like the compost habitat.

Inorganic mulch options

The most natural inorganic mulch option for lawn maintenance is either hay or straw. Both are affordable and easy to work with. Unfortunately, rodents love living in either one of these options. They also tend to be picked up with the wind and don't offer the most aesthetically pleasing mulch.

Stones, gravel, and pebbles are also an option recommended by Nutri-Lawn Burlington. Like peat moss, these offer a cleaner, crisper look. Unlike straw, pebbles won't easily be moved from off of your flowerbed and can offer a lovely look. They are long-term mulch, so you won't need to continue to apply stone, and are easy to work with. Unfortunately, they will not decompose to fertilize the garden, and there are instances where weeds fit through the cracks of gravel.

The final two, shredded rubber and landscape fabrics, aren't the most attractive options possible. Though they can be great long-term options, neither offers any fertilizer for the soil. Landscape fabric does a great job of inhibiting weed growth and retaining moisture and heat levels, but with that in mind, watering and caring for your plants and other lawn maintenance also becomes a challenge.

Are you ready to get started on your Nutri-Lawn Burlington lawn maintenance services? Contact Nutri-Lawn Burlington today for your complimentary quote.