Benefits of Mulching Contianers

[Michigan_Nick]

Good evening folks!

Not sure who has seen my previous posts, but I'm a new gardener and have been experimenting with various vegetables in smallish-sized containers. Now understanding the many benefits of bigger and better containers I have attempted to mulch the top layers of these containers to hold moisture.

Are there any other pros/cons I should be aware of? From what I understand it aids in holding moisture, prevents splashing the leaves with water, and defends against weed growth. What else?

My main question is, how much moisture does mulching actually hold respectively? Given that I water about every other day (as my soil in my containers dries out fairly quick) how much will adding this top layer of mulch cut down on my watering? If any?

 

[ninnymary]

I heavily mulch my containers which are quite large. I used to water them every 3 days without mulch. Now I water every 6-7 days. I’m in a fairly cool weather area so I can go this long. Well worth it for me.

In addition the chips break down and add to the quality of the soil. I even see worms in my containers.

Mary

 

[Michigan_Nick]

Thanks for the input Mary!

I also live in a cool weather area, here in Michigan. This last week or so has dried the soil out to no end though. So your mulching cut your watering down in half then, more or less? I added pine bark mulch, so there's really no downfall to mulching then?

 

[digitS']

High humidity and cooler summer temperatures must make a difference, although I'm not familiar with either ... and not all that familiar with container growing through the summer. I'm watering pots daily in 80 to 90 degree afternoons.

Odd weeds show up with my 3 backyard tomatoes. The compost has seeds, notably tomato seeds . It never seems to be in complete decomposition so those very full pots are now down nearly 3". I should get some more compost in them and we might think of it as mulch.

Wish the potato patch wasn't so far from my compost making, these days. I felt that I had good summer use for compost mulch gathering it around those plants. Used soil this year.

Steve

 

[Nyboy]

Some times slugs hide in mulch. Easy to take care of, fill a shallow bowl with cheap beer. Put one in each container slugs LOVE beer will crawl in and drown

 

[flowerbug]

one thing to beware of is that the mulch may hide the fact that your soil isn't getting wet down through the center as in containers the soil may sometimes shrink away from the sides...

 

[Beekissed]

My main question is, how much moisture does mulching actually hold respectively? Given that I water about every other day (as my soil in my containers dries out fairly quick) how much will adding this top layer of mulch cut down on my watering? If any?

Depends on the type of mulch. Pine bark won't hold much moisture unless you put it in pretty thickly and the pieces are small.

Here's two ways to retain good moisture in containers...dig down a little in the soil and sit your container down into the soil, bringing the soil up a little around the base of the container and laying on mulch on top of the soil~this only works well if you have good holes in the base of your containers so they can take up moisture from the soil under them too. Then place a layer of mulch on top of the container at least 4-6in. deep, just as you would in a garden.

I've found a mix of mulch materials work best~leaves, wood chips/bark, grass/hay~as the different particle sizes and material density can give you a more evenly distributed moisture retention and aeration.

Next time you mow, let the clippings dry a good bit and then place them in your containers. You'll see some great results with just dry grass clippings for moisture retention and good nourishment to the plants.