| DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPOST AND MULCH |
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WHAT\'S THE BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPOST AND MULCH
We have a lot of new-to-gardening folks who may not know what the difference is. I sure didn’t for a long time! So what IS the difference between compost and mulch, anyway?
Well, here goes in a nutshell. Compost is mixed INTO the soil. Mulch goes ON TOP of the soil. Both have very different, yet somewhat similar jobs to do.
"Finished" compost, or humus, is a nutrient rich soil amendment we can easily make ourself. It\'s fascinating, fun, very inexpensive and very rewarding to do! It\'s made with materials that are readily available, perhaps even already in our garden. Compost only needs to be added to our gardens about once a year. Do check out the "LINKS" page to learn more details of compost making and a chart of ingredients to add.
We work it directly into our soil to a depth of 6 or more inches to make the soil more fertile, much easier to work, or in garden lingo - friable, and for much better soil drainage. It\'s one of the important ingredients that help build healthy soil along with adding organic fertilizer and a layer of mulch.
Simply stated, compost started off as larger pieces of organic ingredients and end up being digested then “cast off” (a nice word for “pooped!) by the beneficial soil insects. These ingredients are made up of alternate layers, each about 8 inches or so thick, of garden, barnyard and/or kitchen refuse of both nitrogen, or the "greens", and carbon, or the "browns" (as they are called in garden composters language)! Greens can be fresh grass clippings (unsprayed, of course), undried leaves, kitchen refuse like old lettuce or other un-usable veggie material.
Compost breaks down into very fine bits loaded with nutrients and easily available for the plants to uptake. A handful of compost more than equals the population of our planet of the soil insects that inhabit it!
Now mulch, on the other hand, is spread or layered on TOP of the soil and around our plants, ideally, several inches thick, and always replenished, never removed. And keeping it away from the plant or tree trunks by about 6 to 10 inches all around.
Mulch protects the soil from ever-changing and often harsh elements such as moisture, soil erosion from wind and water, and it suppresses weeds. Mulch also protects our plants roots from temperature flucuations and extremes by keeping the plants roots warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
Organic mulches eventually become compost due to the breaking down by the soil insects. For mulch, we can cover our soil around our plants with a variety of organic materials thick layers of newspaper, shredded junk mail, cardboard, discarded carpet, hay, alfalfa, anything that will break down over time and comes from the earth.
It\'s important to soak the soil deeply around our plants before layering these things on the top of our soil. I use soaker hoses for watering and place the hoses between the soil and the mulch so the water goes down to the plants roots.
GOOD GROWING TO YOU.
Pat
Contact
Pat Banttari, Master Gardener
dynamic_organics@yahoo.com
(760) 947-0296 or (760) 265-2560
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