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Whether you’re a homeowner, landscaper, or business owner; most of us have a garden we need to look after as part of home or work life. Between watering, mowing, fertilising and more; it can be difficult to keep up with caring for our gardens and confusing to know how each thing we do to nourish our garden actually serves a purpose.

At CopperRock, we sell garden supplies that are designed to help you refresh your own garden, or the garden you’re working on for someone else. As experts on garden supplies, we’re sharing everything we know about mulch and the benefit it has for gardens of every shape and size.

What is Mulch?

Firstly, let’s establish what mulch actually is. Mulch is a combination of natural materials usually consisting of anything from grass clippings to leaves, hay, straw, shredded bark, sawdust and more. At CopperRock, we have several different types of mulch that are suitable for different purposes, including:

Mulch is generally used as a soil topper in gardens, providing a fresh look but also a range of benefits that we will cover below.

Mulching Your Garden

Mulch Keeps your Plants Hydrated

One of the first benefits of placing mulch on your garden is that it stops the water evaporating from your soil. When water evaporates from your garden soil, your plants won’t be able to get the hydration they need, especially in times of drought. If you’ve mulched your garden, however, you don’t need to worry as the mulch helps reduce moisture loss from soil, protects the soil from exposure to the elements and keeps your plants hydrated and healthy, even during the driest of months.

It Improves the Quality of your Soil

Every garden owner’s dream is to have good quality soil. Good quality soil allows your plants to thrive and remain as healthy as possible and mulching your garden can help with this process. This is because as mulch decomposes it can break up the clay within your soil, which allows for better water and air movement through the soil. If you have sandy soil, decomposing mulch can provide much needed nutrients and assist in its ability to retain water.

Garden Mulch

It Acts as Insulation

During the warmer months of the year, your soil can bear the brunt of the hot weather and begin to dry out. However, if you mulch your garden, the mulch will act as a layer of insulation so that your soil can stay nice and cool during summer.

It Keeps Weeds at Bay

Nobody likes weeds in their garden, and mulch is perfect for keeping these little pests at bay. Mulch not only restricts weed’s ability to grow, but, if any weeds do grow, mulch makes them much easier to extract.

Mulch Your Garden

How to Mulch Your Garden

If you’re a professional landscaper, you’ll be more than familiar with the mulching process. However, for those who are new to gardening, below is a how-to on mulching:

  1. Before applying your mulch, remove any weeds and water your soil generously. This will help you get the most out of your fresh mulch.
  2. Replace any grass that sits under trees with mulch so as to minimise water and nutrients competing to feed both grass and mulch. This actually mimics the way trees grow in nature and is the optimal way to grow them.
  3. Place your mulch at least 6-12 inches away from the base of your trees and shrubs.
  4. Apply mulch 2-4 inches deep in each planting area. When using finer mulches, apply no more than 2 inches of mulch. Coarser mulches can be applied up to 4 inches deep.