Description:
1. CONTROLS WEEDS
– suffocates weeds
– saves labor time and money
– reduces competition for water and nutrients
– spares roots near soil surface, which are often damaged by cultivation.
2. MODERATES SOIL MOISTURE &TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS
– keeps the soil moist by reducing evaporation and transpiration from weeds
– buffers seasonal temperature changes, soil stays warmer at night and in the fall, cooler during the day, and in the summer
– winter mulch decreases frost heave
CAUTION: Mulching slows soil warming in the spring, so don’t put on too early, especially on crops that like warmth.
3. IMPROVES SOIL FERTILITY ANDSTRUCTURE
– adds nutrients as it decomposes although it may tie up nitrogen temporarily if high in carbon
– reduces leaching losses and top soil loss by wind action and rain running off the surface
– prevents soil compaction
– encourages earthworms, whose burrows aerate and drain soil
– organic matter improves soil structure
– encourages microbial growth; CO2 evolved by microbes may be important in stimulating plant growth
Source: Ecological Agriculture Project Publication 64