Why Some Gardeners Say Mulching Does More Harm than Good

Most gardeners consider mulching a site an important and necessary activity. But it's not always the case. Based on my own experience, I can say that mulch does more harm than good. And that's why.

Reproduction of pests

Mulch tightly covers the topsoil, keeping moisture and warmth. And these are excellent conditions for the reproduction of various pests. Mulch types such as grass and bark are especially dangerous.

If you remove the top layer of mulch, you can see how many slugs, worms and beetle larvae have accumulated there. In addition, even mice can live in mulch and build their nests there. Such guests will not bring any benefit to the summer cottage.

Mold and mildew

Favorable conditions for mold and mildew - warm, dark and humid place. A mulch made from grass, sawdust or dense covering material is just what you need. If mold starts once, it will be very difficult to get rid of it.

You may even need to remove the topsoil. Therefore, do not get carried away with mulching those areas where mold or mildew has already been noticed.

Weed propagation

This applies to mulch, which is made from cut grass. If done according to the rules, then the mowed grass must be peeled so that the weed seeds lose their germination.

But, most gardeners do not wait long and mulch the area with freshly cut grass. As a result, weed seeds spread throughout the site and are even more difficult to get rid of.

I never use grass as mulch because it has little benefit and a lot of harm.

Change in soil composition

Any mulch changes the composition of the soil. For example, pine needles and raw sawdust acidify the soil. And straw "draws" nitrogen out of the ground. In addition, the ground under the mulch is not ventilated or enriched with oxygen.

Most of all, the composition of the soil changes under artificial mulch (rubber crumb, film). Therefore, it is better to abandon these soil cover options.

Toxic mulch

Sometimes mulch can be toxic. This happens when the cut grass has undergone some kind of chemical treatment. Or when rubber crumb from car wheels (it also happens) or plastic waste are used as mulch.

I never understood what motivates people who bring environmentally hazardous materials to their site and lay them around the entire perimeter, hoping for a positive effect.

Temperature rise

There is another drawback of mulch that few people know about. But I'll tell you. If you use fresh sawdust or fresh manure as mulch, then as a result of overheating chemical reactions occur that strongly heat the topsoil, completely destroying and burning out the biota.

In general, I practically gave up using mulch on my personal plot and am happy with it.