Much ado about Mulch

 

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by Spencer Shaw.

When it comes to me espousing the virtues of mulch, I’m sure, that given the name of our business you think it’s a conspiracy. That my hidden agenda is to ensure that you provide more nesting material for my feathered friends so that one day soon my army of Brush Turkeys can rise up and take over the world (Muh- Ha-Ha… sinister villain laugh) – oops did I say that out loud?

Ok, but seriously mulch is wonderful stuff and really does make a huge difference to the survival, health and speed of growth for many of our rainforest plants. Particularly mature phase rainforest trees and shrubs.

What are the types of mulch I hear you ask? First up we have bale mulch (straw), this is not only good for the veggie patch but in combination with our Pink Guards one of my favourite options. Next up we have chip mulches of shredded wood, bark or leaf. This is potentially the longest lived mulch (if high in wood), but heavier to move around. Finally there are mulch blankets and mats. These are light and easy to install, but the blankets can be very costly and act mainly as a weed preventative layer rather than having the added benefit of feeding the soil like the previous two mulch types.

There are drawbacks with using mulch, the reflection of light and heat from straw and chip mulches can burn the stems of tender rainforest stock fresh out of the nursery (this can be overcome by using tree guards such as our Pink Guards) and woody mulches can reduce the amount of available nitrogen for plantings and slow them down in the short term (this can be overcome with use of organic fertilisers.

In addition to helping get your plants, mulch helps kick start your rainforest ecosystem by creating a forest type soil that is full of all the microbes, fungi, insects and whole host of other micro fauna. All this life can thrive in and below a mulch layer not much deeper than 100mm, and creates the perfect conditions for healthy tree and shrub development.

This leads me to one of my favourite planting tips, which is mulching your revegetation site 4-12 weeks in advance of planting. Why install mulch so far in advance? If soil moisture is good, mulch can start improving soil within days of installation and when you plant your trees they get off to an even better start.

Notice my subtle mention of the use of Pink Guards throughout this article? For more information on these and tubestock available through Brush Turkey Enterprises Nursery check out our stocklists.

About the Author
Brush Turkey Enterprises is an award-winning business based in Maleny, on the Sunshine Coast, South East Queensland.

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