Mulching

     A Gardening Tip --
Mulching is a great way to gain several benefits at once. It can keep your weeds down, keep the soil temperature cooler, help keep your vegetables up off the soil for less rotting problems, and when it decomposes it greatly improves the soil.

Straw makes a great mulch, as well as hay. But one has to be careful with hay because of weed seeds and grass such as bermuda grass or johnson grass. Some people use wood chips. Actually, any plant material that decomposes can make good mulch. As it decomposes it uses nitrogen, so for mulch that is slow to decompose, like wood chips, it helps to add a little nitrogen, or mix something in with it like chicken litter.
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Most mulch will have disappeared after a winter of rainy weather. But it really didn’t disappear; it converted into humus and enriched your soil. What can beat that?