Vegetable garden mulch: The ultimate tool!

vegetable garden in summer with mulch

My vegetable garden looking tidily mulched in summer!

Weeds! They’re every gardener’s nemesis. And they are, by far, the most common frustration I hear from fellow gardeners. If we’re not careful, weeds can take over our gardens (and our lives!) within a few short weeks of the gardening season.

So, gardener to gardener, I’m here to tell it to you straight. Weeding is a complete waste of time.

And if you’re spending more than a few minutes a week weeding your garden during the season, it’s time to change your strategy.

There’s one simple, inexpensive, and effective tool you can use all season long, year after year, to make your garden weed-less — mulch.

Here’s why vegetable garden mulch is so amazing and how you should use it in your garden.

woman weeding and mulching in vegetable garden

Benefits of Vegetable Garden Mulch

Before we begin, let’s be clear – there’s no such thing as a garden without weeds. That’s simply not possible. Gardens grow plants, and some of the plants are always going to be weeds.

But, the good news is that you can drastically cut down on the number of weeds that grow in your garden using the simple technique of mulching.

Here are the ways mulching will benefit your garden, and you as the garden tender!

Less time spent weeding.

The #1 way to cut down on weeding at all times of the year is to keep the soil covered. It’s good to remember that often weeds are only doing their job. Nature doesn’t like bare soil.

It’s susceptible to erosion and compaction from wind and water. Nature likes to keep it covered to keep it in place.

So, bare soil is an invitation for weed seeds, whose job is to be the first line of protection for the soil.

When you cover the soil of your garden beds with mulch, you are preventing a weed seed party from happening in your garden.

And nature can rest easy, you’ve got it covered. (Ha ha!)

Less time spent watering.

Keeping the soil covered with mulch insulates it and traps in moisture, which results in much less watering than if you leave the soil exposed.

(Here’s how you should be watering your vegetable garden.)

A few years ago here in the Madison area, we had one of the worst droughts I’ve experienced as a gardener. Gardens everywhere were suffering and people were spending a lot of their mornings and evenings watering their gardens.

Because my garden was heavily mulched I didn’t water much more than I usually do, and my plants didn’t suffer nearly as bad as many of my neighbors.

You may also notice as the summer progresses that uncovered soil will start to dry out and crack as the moisture content takes a nosedive. If I slide my hand under the layer of mulch on my garden bed the soil underneath is always dark, moist, and crumbly, even in the height of summer.

Which kind of soil do you think plants and seeds like more? Dried and cracked or moist and crumbly?

back yard vegetable garden with mulch

Builds healthier soil. 

Most gardeners know that healthy soil is one of the main building blocks of a successful garden.  You simply cannot grow robust and productive plants without it.

The components that make up soil are minerals, organic materials, water and air.

The amount of organic matter (materials) in your soil helps improve soil structure, retains moisture, and increases the number of micro-organisms in your garden.

If you don’t have a lot of organic matter in your soil you’ll struggle to grow plants as you have increasing problems with fertility, water availability, compaction, erosion, parasites, diseases, and insects.

There are lots of soil organisms that live in your garden whose job it is to break down nutrients and feed your plants. The vegetable garden mulch you add breaks down over time and increases the organic matter in your soil which in turn increases the amount of biological activity. 

That means you’ll have a diverse and populous community of microorganisms living in your garden that are constantly working to keep your plants healthy and your soil providing them with the nutrients they need.

Every garden season you should be regularly adding fresh organic matter by using vegetable garden mulch, cover crops, compost, and manure.

Each year I use about eight bales of hay in my 1600 square foot garden and I’m always amazed how much they decompose and disappear into the soil.

how to mulch your vegetable garden

Helps slow down the spreading of disease. 

During summer I receive a lot of emails and social media comments from gardeners feeling frustrated by the tomato diseases attacking their favorite varieties.

Luckily, mulching can help keep down the spread of disease in your garden. If you mulch nothing else, at least mulch your tomatoes.

There are a lot of soil-borne tomato diseases that splash up onto the plant when it rains if your soil is bare. Mulching won’t eradicate the tomato diseases, but it may give the plant a head start by slowing the disease down.

(Read more about preventing tomato diseases.)

Keeps the garden looking neat.

When you browse the internet, magazines, or garden books which gardens really jump out at you as the most beautiful? The ones covered in overgrown weeds? I doubt it.

Usually, the most attractive gardens have an overall organization and neatness to them.

When you suppress the weeds by mulching your garden paths and beds, your garden is going to look neat and tidy all season long. This will cut down on your stress levels, your plants will be more productive because they won’t have to compete with weeds, and I bet you’ll get more enjoyment from your garden.

You won’t have to be constantly carving out time to weed large areas in an attempt to save your plants. You’ll be able to relax, have a cup of tea in your yard, and admire your beautiful garden.

 

tomato plants with vegetable garden mulch

What should you use for vegetable garden mulch? 

Marsh hay is my first choice for mulch in my garden, but you can also use straw, leaves, grass clippings or anything else that’s local to your region.

One word of caution: mind your source of mulch.  Hay can bring weed seeds into your garden if you’re not careful. Ask questions about where the mulch came from before you purchase it.

If you’re unsure whether bales of hay or straw you’ve purchased contains weed seeds, leave one out in the rain for a few weeks and watch to see if things start sprouting out if it. If so, find out what those sprouts are. If you’re using straw it could be oats, which are not harmful to your garden.

If it’s growing a nice crop of weeds, you might not want to add it to your garden.

You can also grow your own mulch by cultivating plants like comfrey, which produces large amounts of leaves that can be cut down and added as mulch to the tops of your garden beds.

You could also use the clippings from cutting down your perennial garden grasses, although you should check into the varieties you’re growing to make sure they won’t drop seed and spread themselves into your vegetable garden beds.

Some gardeners and farmers experiment with living mulches, which means they plant cover crops like buckwheat, clover, and oats alongside their vegetables in the same garden bed.

What shouldn’t you use for mulch?

Woodchips are not a good choice for mulching of vegetable garden beds because they contain too much carbon. When carbon heavy materials get mixed into the soil they can tie up a lot of nitrogen that would otherwise be going to the vegetable plants.

I do use woodchips in my garden aisles because they last the full season without needing to be reapplied. I also like the aesthetic effect of having two different colors and textures of mulch in my garden beds and paths.

Obviously, you should also not use any mulch that might contain chemicals and harm your plants. If you order manure-based compost as a mulch, make sure that manure is not being sourced from animals that graze on land that’s sprayed with herbicides. Those herbicides will still be present in the manure and could kill your plants.

vegetable garden paths with woodchip mulch

How thick should you mulch? 

As a huge proponent of mulching, I always joke that in my book there’s no such thing as too much mulch. You definitely don’t want to see any soil through the mulch because that’s precisely where the weeds will set up shop.

So, thick enough to entirely cover the soil and not let any sunlight through to the soil surface.

Where can you buy mulch?

I used to order my hay mulch through the community garden where I had a plot. If you have a community garden in your area, ask about their mulch source.

Now that I only garden at home, I buy it from a local nursery in my city (Jung’s if you’re a fellow Madisonian!). Talk to other gardeners in your area, look on Craigslist for listings, or ask organic farmers at your local market where they purchase their weed-free mulch.

vegetable garden mulch

When do you apply the mulch?

You can keep your garden beds covered in the mulch of your choosing all year round. In fact, it’s a smart practice to make sure all of your soil is covered over the winter to protect it from drying out from the harsh winter winds and eroding from wind and rain.

In spring, if I’m planting a seedling (baby plant), I simply go out to my garden bed and create a little hole in the mulch with my hands. I use a trowel to plant the seedling and then leave the mulch pulled away from the plant a little. (See photos above.)

If you’re planting seeds, you’ll want to clear the area of all mulch. Prepare the soil, plant your seeds, and then wait for them to germinate. Do not cover the newly planted seeds with mulch.

Wait until they’re up and growing for a couple of weeks before you mulch in around them and in between the rows. In this instance, it’s okay to have some bare soil for a short amount of time.

The photo below shows me mulching carrots and cilantro after they’re germinated and started growing. Don’t put any mulch over the plants.

mulching vegetable garden

Have I convinced you yet of the wonderful superpowers of vegetable garden mulch? If not, go read this post again. (Ha ha!)

I think if you try it out this season you’ll find that mulch is the ultimate tool for creating a low maintenance garden with healthy soil, less disease, lower water needs, and a tidy and beautiful aesthetic.

I hardly ever say this about gardening, but if you’re not mulching your garden, you’re doing it wrong. There’s no reason not to start right now.

Comments

  • When do you put mulch down for the vegetable garden? I am worried that the vegetable plants aren’t strong enough to push through straw for instance.

    • Hi Britney – Thanks for stopping by! You never want to put mulch over plants or seeds because they need the light. But, you can mulch around small plants and newly germinated seeds. My garden is usually covered in mulch and I either clear a little hole to plant a seedling or clear off a section to plant seeds. Once the seeds germinate I mulch around them to keep down weeds and trap in moisture. Let me know if you have any other questions!

  • I didn’t realize that mulch can keep down the disease in the garden. A lot of people don’t really see the benefits of having mulch in their yard. However, it really does make a difference to at least have something to help your yard stay in top condition. Do you have any preferences when it comes to mulch?

    • I like marsh hay for vegetable garden beds because it’s very common in my area. I think it’s best to use what you can get locally – leaves, straw, hay. Just be careful of your source. Ask questions about where it comes from so you don’t import new weeds into your garden. Thanks for stopping by, Johnny!

      • Hi,

        I am wondering if you specifically request weed- free mulch from Jungs or just purchase marsh hay from there We’re about 5 minutes away and shop there regularly, but haven’t purchased mulch before.

        Thanks!
        Kirstin

        • I’ve had good luck with the marsh hay there for the last 15+ years. Their straw is often oat straw, which is fine, too, but it will likely sprout some oats in the spring, which isn’t a big deal, but can be scary at first because they look like weeds.

  • I didn’t know that mulching could reduce the spread of disease in your garden. I haven’t gardened very seriously in the past, but I want to try and put more effort into it this next year. Next time I’ll consider mulching my garden to keep disease from spreading.

  • Phyllis Holloway-Shelton

    What should I be asking when buying mulch? How will I know that the brand of hay or straw doesn’t have weeds mixed in them and if they do what could be done?

    • Great question, Phyllis. You want to make sure the mulch doesn’t have weed seeds in it, so ask what it consists of. You also want to make sure it doesn’t contain any herbicides. A way to test to see if your mulch has seeds in it is to leave it out in the rain and warmth for a few weeks. If nothing sprouts out of it then it’s clean.

  • I have pine trees in my back yard, can I use the needles? I live in Las Vegas.

  • I would love to start a garden, and I want to make sure I am choosing the right supplies to make it successful. Mulch is definitely an important aspect of gardening! There are so many benefits that you mentioned. I didn’t realize that mulch could help keep down the spread of disease in a garden. Thanks for sharing!

  • […] the garden that really matters – the area where you are growing food. Who cares about the paths? All you need to do is keep them mulched so they don’t grow […]

  • Be careful with you stra source,I mulched my raised beds this year with straw bought from a local nursery and the straw seed sprouted,it was as if I planted grass on my new raised beds.i had to remove the straw and for days handpicked all the sprouted seeds ,I am still dealing with this problem.
    I will suggest you buy the straw and possible water it and watch for a couple of weeks to see it it sprouts .
    I have learnt my lesson.

    • Was it oat straw? Sometimes that sprouts and looks like grass. If you live in a cold climate it’s not too big of a deal because they can’t survive the winter. Watering the bale for awhile is a good idea if you have doubts.

  • Can you use rocks or pebbles as mulch?

    • You can, Nicole, but you should probably put something down under them like landscape fabric, or even better, some kind of gravel screenings. Know that you will get weeds in the rocks over time and sometimes it’s hard to get them out.

  • I Live in Morton Bay, Queensland, and just wondering what sort of mulch could I use, I grow habernero chillies. Thanks Annie

    • Annie- I always suggest using something from your local area as mulch. Do you have access to hay, straw, leaves, or grass clippings?

  • Mulch is definitely an important aspect of gardening! My garden is usually covered in mulch, I always mulch around small plants and newly germinated seeds. Thanks for sharing this heplful info!

  • Do you take the marsh hay off the beds over winter (& reuse next year) or leave on? Where is the best source for good marsh hay around Madison, WI and what is a good price for it?

    • Hi Dianne- I leave the marsh hay on all winter to protect the soil. It breaks down over time and I add a new layer on top. I get mine from Jungs. My husband just bought two bales for me yesterday and they were $7 each.

  • Whenever I use straw or grass clippings they tend to get moldy. If I layer too thin, the weeds creep through. If too thick, the straw gets moldy underneath. I live on the coast so there is already a problem with moisture. Any suggestions?

  • How often we have to replace or clean the mulch? Does it need to be removed often?

    • Great question, Pete! You don’t ever have to clean it, but you do need to replenish it when it start to get thin. If you can see the soil through the mulch then weeds will grow through. Thicker is better. The only time I remove it is when I’m planting directed seeded crops like beets, carrots, lettuce, etc. Once they germinate I put it back on. Thanks for stopping by!

  • Hello. I live in Milwaukee Wi. I have used Preen in the past but doesn’t seem to do the job in my Veggie gardens. Going to try the mulch. Is Marsh hay available at local garden centers? Thanks!

  • Kathy Vesely

    Hi Megan! This was a very informative blogpost! Thank you so much. I have gardened for several years, but have never mulched with straw. I just TODAY connected up with my wonderful gardening friend. She brought over 3 bales of straw for me!!!!! I am SOOOO excited–and very lucky to have such a good friend.

    • That’s so great, Kathy! I hope you like what mulch provides to your garden. Keep me posted!

  • Do you have a typo here in your post: (I think one does NOT want manure from animals on herbicide land)
    “If you order manure-based compost as a mulch, make sure that manure is being sourced from animals that graze on land that’s sprayed with herbicides. Those herbicides will still be present in the manure and could kill your plants.”

  • Arlene Baker

    I would love to use mulch in my raised beds, but we have a big problem here with earwigs. They just love dark moist areas with decaying matter and also chomping on my vegetable plants. We do trap them, but we can’t seem to ever decrease their numbers. Can I use mulch with those darned earwigs around? Thanks.

  • Arlene Baker

    I thought I posted this already, but I don’t see it. We have a huge earwig problem. Won’t mulching our plants make this worse? Thanks.

    • It could. I would proceed with caution. I’d probably try it out on the veggies that don’t get bothered as much by earwigs first.

  • Great info, but, you shared; “If you order manure-based compost as a mulch, make sure that manure is being sourced from animals that graze on land that’s sprayed with herbicides.” It should have read; “If you order manure-based compost as a mulch, make sure that manure is (not) being sourced from animals that graze on land that’s sprayed with herbicides.” Great article, Thanks

  • […] course, planting when the weather is warmer means you should mulch and water well until the plants become established. Be careful not to overwater squash plants […]

  • […] you complete the mounding process, spread a thick layer of vegetable garden mulch around the plants to retain soil moisture and keep the soil […]

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