Ferm A, Hytonen J, Lilja S, Jylha P (1994) Effects of weed control on the early growth of Betulapendula seedlings established on an agricultural field. Scand. J. Forest. Res. 9:347–359 Even though it catches water, pumice is still an inorganic stone. It won’t decompose. However, over time it may break into smaller pieces and become less effective. Pea Gravel However, like all wood mulch, it breaks down over time, and like all colorized mulch, it will fade over time. To maintain the most vibrant looks, you should plan to replace it at least once per year, or more depending on your needs and preferences. Keeping water off of the mulch for at least 24 hours after application can help with color retention. However, we think this mulch provides an affordable way to upgrade your flower beds and other outdoor landscapes, earning our top spot on this list. Mishra AK, Bhowmik AK, Banerjee SK (1996) Effect of mulches on growth of tree species on fly ash.J. Environ. Eco. 14:411–414 Burgess PJ, Nkomaula JC, Medeiros-Ramos AL (1997) Root distribution and water use in a four-year old silvoarable system. Agro.Forest.Forum. 8:15–18

It is likely that you’ll obtain straw that isn’t weed-free if buying it in a standard bale or bag. If you’re concerned about weed seeds in your mulch, search for a certified weed-free straw instead. Just like regular straw, these are cereal and grass crops that have been harvested, but these are steam-treated to remove weed seeds that make gardening laborious. This type of mulch is great for your garden or for composting. Foshee WG, Goff WD, Tilt KM, Williams JD, Bannon JS, Witt JB (1996) Organic mulches increase growth of young pecan trees. Hortic. Sci. 31:811–812 Hashim S, Marwat KB, Saeed M, Haroon M, Waqas M, Shah F (2013) Developing a sustainable and eco-friendly weed management system using organic and inorganic mulching techniques. Pak. J. Bot. 45:483–486 Woods FW, Hay RL, Irwin GH (1979) Summer planting on strip mines successful. Tree Planters’ Notes 30:22–23Get Garden Straw From Epic Gardening What Is Straw Mulch? Straw mulch looks beautiful and decomposes over time to build the soil. Source: Zane Selvans

Schumann AW, Little KM, Eccles NS (1995) Suppression of seed germination and early seedling growth by plantation harvest residues. South.Afric. J. Plant. Soil. 12:170–172 Wood bark: Larger than wood chips, wood bark mulch is made from hardwood waste. The large nuggets are an attractive ground cover, but they do have a tendency to form into an impenetrable mat that hinders plant growth.

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Downer J, Hodel D (2001) The effects of mulching on establishment of Syagrus romanzoffiana(Cham.)Becc., Washingtonia robusta H. Wendl. and Archontophoenix cunninghamiana(H. Wendl.)H.Wendl. and Drude in the landscape. Sci. Hortic. 87:85–92 Straw: The dried stalks of wheat, rice, or oats are often used for mulch. Straw is affordable and readily available mulching material. Straw is good for covering large areas.

Vasilakoglou et al . ( 2006) conducted a field research study to evaluate the impact of different weed control measures on overall phonological stages of cotton. Three weed control methods were used namely as (i) herbicides, (ii) cereals as mulch, and (iii) inter-row cultivation. Findings of the research study showed that the germination and growth of weeds were very less under cereal mulch, herbicides, and inter-row cultivation as compared to control treatment. Cotton got vigorous growth under weed control methods in relation to control treatment. From the current study, it is concluded that usage of cereals as mulch is the effective strategy to reduce down the intensity of weeds and also to increase the cotton seed yield. Shredded bark mulch is a slow decomposer, making it a long-lasting solution for your landscape. However, it may absorb nitrogen from the soil as it decomposes. If you’re planning to use it around nitrogen-loving plants, you may want to supplement the shredded bark with a bit with fertilizer. Wood CB, Smalley TJ, Rieger M, Radcliffe DE (1994) Growth and drought tolerance of Viburnum plicatumvar. tomentosum‘Mariesii’ in pine bark-amended soil. J. Amer. Soc. Hortic. Sci. 119:687–692 Choosing the right mulch is a big deal for gardeners. Depending on what you want to grow, maybe wood chip mulch is a good option. Maybe grass clippings are best. But for most working in a raised bed vegetable garden, straw mulch is one of the best types of mulch out there.Siipilehto J (2001) Effect of weed control with fiber mulches and herbicides on the initial development of spruce, birch and aspen seedlings on abandoned farmland. Silva.Fenn. 35:403–414 Gardiner ES, Yeiser JL (1998) Converting stands of low-grade hardwoods to loblolly pine: stimulating growth and reducing costs through litter retention. South. J. App. Res. 22:148–155 Jordan A, Zawala LM, Gill J (2010) Effects of mulching on soil physical properties and runoff under semi-arid conditions in southern Spain. Catena. 15:77–85

There is a misapprehension about the use of woody mulches that they cause nitrogen deficiency in plants when used in healthy crop plants or around the trees. The reason behind this is that the woody materials have high C to N ratio. The nitrogen is utilized by the micro-organisms leaving behind the carbon in soil which will cause the deficiency of nitrogen in soil, and this would be indicated by the chlorosis in plants (Chalker-Scott 2007). Diseased plants have mulch materials which have pathogens inside. If we use this type of mulches, then diseases will transfer to the healthy plants also. So, before using mulches, the mulch materials should be fully composted (Hoitink and Krause 1999). Sometimes, mulch materials are given a temperature treatment to destroy all the beneficial and harmful organisms contained in the mulch. Organic mulches which are available commercially are sterile in nature. We should focus on commercially available mulches to avoid pathogens (Chalker-Scott 2007). Honey locust canker which is mostly used as mulch contains a number of pathogens which are harmful (Koski and Jacobi 2004). Some contradictory results were also obtained from different studies which showed that there is no transfer of diseases by using the diseased mulch as infected maple trees. When wood chips were made from this type of pathogenic trees, there was no spread of pathogen occurred in healthy trees (Dochinger 1956). In various research studies, it was observed that when mulches were made from such type of pathogenic trees there was occurrence of pathogens in healthy plants due to the reason that most of the pathogens dried out when mulches were made as shoestring root rot pathogen (Perez-Sierra et al. 2003). A research study of 6 years gave the similar results that when butt rot or canker diseased mulches were applied to the healthy plants there was no transmission of pathogen found. There was only evidence that when diseased Austrian pine foliage were used as mulch for the same species transmission of tip blight occurred (Jacobs 2005). Tip blight pathogen of Austrian pine did not affect any other crop plants. It was being referred that Austrian pine might be vulnerable to the pathogen. Epidemiology might be the reason of disease causing not the pathogenic source only (Chalker-Scott 2007). Organic mulches are your part-time fertilizers. They’ll decompose into the soil over time, replenishing it with nutrients and boosting plant growth. Often, the spent mulch can just be tilled into the soil. However, because they decompose, organic mulches need to be replenished often (some even monthly!). These types of mulches are typically the most environmentally friendly, especially since they’re often byproducts. So, here are our top organic mulches that stop weed growth and boost soil quality. Straw MulchRaman et al. ( 2004) conducted a field experiment to observe the effects of various mulches on cotton growth-, yield-, and weed-related parameters. Different mulches used were as follows, i.e., sawdust, coir pith, water hyacinth, sugarcane trash mulch, and rice straw mulch. Very low density of weeds (20 m -2) was observed in sugarcane trash mulch followed by coir pith, water hyacinth, rice straw, and saw dust, and highest in control (225 m −2) treatment. More weed biomass was also reported in the control treatment (157 g m −2) followed by saw dust, rice straw, water hyacinth, and coir pith, and very less in sugarcane trash. In the same way, more weed control effectiveness was present in sugarcane trash (91%), coir pith (84%), water hyacinth (77%), rice straw (65%), and saw dust (52%) in comparison to control treatment. Pine straw mulch sounds fancy, but it’s literally just dried pine needles. Like leaf mulch, pine needles are readily available if you have the right trees. It’s just a matter of sweeping up the needles and spreading them across the garden. You can also buy pine needles in bales for even less than bark mulch.