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M
ULCHING
: T
HE
M
AGIC
“M
ANTRA
”
FOR
 
AN
A
SSIDUOUS
G
ARDENER
 
 The book “How to have a Green Thumb without and AchingBack” by Ruth Stout, written many decades ago is just what it says –how to be a successful gardener without having to slog your butt off.Her magic mantra… “Mulching”. It comes from her years of livepersonal experience and experiments, though her primary focus hasbeen vegetables and herbs.She hit upon this technique of mulching, I think, quite by chanceafter years of being a “chemical gardener”. But having experiencedthe magical transformation that happens – to the health of plants, tothe quality of the fruits or flowers and the vitality and life of the soilthat gets established over time, she became a fan and ardent crusaderof mulching.So, what is mulch? Fundamentally, it is any kind of organicmatter (meaning stuff of plant or animal origin) which is used as alayer of ground cover in garden beds or around the base of plants ortrees. All those dry leaves or plant cuttings that you religiously sweepaway, those weeds and grasses that you uproot, all of which you takepains to burn up or other dump over the fence… can be used as qualitymulch. Why only these… the vegetable waste from you kitchen – or forthat matter even shredded paper (excluding those colourful ones, forthey probably contain some other toxic chemicals that you may notwant ending up in your meal) – basically any kind of organic matter,preferably of plant origin - can qualify as mulch. Some other leftoversof non-plant origin, like eggshells or hair that you leave behind with thehair dresser could also be added, but only in conjunction with largerquantities of waste vegetation. To be effective as mulch, the organic matter needs to be spreadin a thick layer of 4 to 10 inches depending on the type of waste. Forexample, if it is wet kitchen waste, the layer must be thin, notexceeding about four inches. But if it is other waste like leaves or grassclipping or weeds, it can be much thicker. You can also combinedifferent types of wastes… for example, the kitchen waste can bespread in a thin layer at the bottom and the other types of waste canbe thickly laid on top. The known advantages of mulching are manifold, but it is likelythat there are many more advantages that modern science has not yetdiscovered. Mulching is an extremely effective method for weedcontrol. Once its laid nice and thick, weeds, particularly seeds thatneed to germinate are unable to sustain growth long enough to breakthe mulch layer and access sunlight, and so die out. This also meansthat you must not use mulch over smaller seeds that you aregerminating – or they will die. But larger seeds, particularly seeds of 
 
some trees (for example mango, jackfruit, etc) can pierce thick layersof mulch.Mulch drastically reduces the requirement of water. Though thetop layers of mulch looks dry, it you open it up and touch the soil, youwill find that it is moist. Loss of moisture due to evaporation is veryhigh is the soil is exposed, which mulching prevents.But by far the most important advantage of mulching istransformation it brings about in the health and quality of the soil. Themechanism for this improvement in soil health is probably because of acombination of the following, and perhaps other yet unknownprocesses:(a) The rotting organic matter gets acted on by the bacteria thatcomprise the decomposition cycle and convert it into manure,which is continuously available to the plant.(b) Apart from moisture that is conserved, one by-product of thedecomposition process by aerobic bacteria is water, which is alsoavailable for the plant(c) A dark and humid condition rich in raw organic matter (as isthe condition prevailing under the mulch layer) is ideal forearthworms to breed. And, as is well known, the earthworm iscalled a friend of the farmer, for the burrowing it does and theadditional nutrients it provides as it feeds on the dead organicmatter and excretes.(d) The conditions are ideal for a host of other small organismsand insects that feed either on the dead vegetation or othersmaller organisms. This in turn invites carnivorous insects likespiders, praying mantis, etc and also other carnivores like lizardsand frogs, which will feed not only on the waste eaters but alsoon pests that may attack your plant. Thus a whole micro-foodchain is set up.All these changes automatically translate, directly and indirectly,into benefits and results in a vigorous and healthy plant bearing large,tasty and well formed fruit - just the same way that nutritious food andloving and caring atmosphere in a home translates into a childblossoming in to a healthy and a mentally and emotionally balancedadult. All this is possible just so simply by mulching using thisinnocuous looking - and till now unwanted - waste organic matter!But beware! If you think that you can “improve” upon this byadding that additional dose of synthetic chemical fertiliser, or try to“help” the plant by using those toxic pesticide sprays to control theoccasional pest, you may find that mulching has failed. Not becausethere is something wrong with mulching, but because you have chosen
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