Putting the Garden to Bed

What a strange but fitting term, putting a garden to bed. We spread a blanket of mulch over the flower beds, say good-bye and go indoors...

  • Topic: Fall Gardening
  • Author: Cindy Bellinger
  • Keywords: Putting the Garden to Bed
  • Date: October 2005

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What a strange but fitting term, putting a garden to bed. We spread a blanket of mulch over the flower beds, say good-bye and go indoors. If you’re like me, you’ll also be saying a few prayers as you tuck in the plants, hoping that some of them make it through the winter.

And winter is definitely here. The other day the first snow fell at my house, earlier than ever. Then we had the first frost. Luckily, I got all my houseplants in just in the nick of time. Now I need to deal with the ones outside, which means mulching.

For as long as trees have grown in forests, leaves and needles have fallen to the ground, forming a natural mulch. Mulch is any substance spread over the soil to keep plants from drying out during the fall and winter months. It also keeps the soil frozen in the early spring to prevent frost heaving of the roots.

Kinds of Mulches

  • Organic mulch includes bark, wood chips, sawdust, straw, leaves and newspaper as well as prepared mixes such as Soil Mender Mulch. As organic mulches decompose they become part of the soil and may need to be replenished every year; but don’t let mulch build to depths greater than 4 inches.
  • Inorganic mulches include stone, gravel and plastic coverings. Xeric plants prefer a non-packing mulch, such as gravel, that won’t stay wet.

Reasons for Mulching

  • conserve soil moisture
  • keep down weeds
  • reduce erosion
  • keep plant roots cool during the summer
  • provide insulation during the winter

How to Mulch

Remove all weeds. Thoroughly cover an area with mulch to a uniform depth—about 1 to 2 inches in flowerbeds; about 2 to 3 inches around shrubs and trees. For trees, extend a ring of mulch from the trunk to the drip line. Be sure to keep mulch away from the crown of plants so they don’t get soggy and rot.

When it comes to keeping soil moist, mulch is ideal. The tiny root hairs that grow off the main root are responsible for getting water to the plant. For root hairs to live they must stay moist. If they dry out, they die. Even if the main root system survives the winter, the plant will suffer if the root hairs are gone.

Mulching is the one fall chore (besides fertilizing) that ensures my garden will be around come spring time.