| One of the most important aspects of pre-planting is | | | | Other materials used as mulch are aluminum foil, to |
| the condition of the soil. Mulching is necessary to | | | | help increase the sun rays, wool and cotton cloth |
| improve any soil condition there may exist. Not only it | | | | which lasts for many seasons, Newsprint ink does |
| will provide with the necessary nutrients to help | | | | not contain any harmful chemicals, but one should |
| plants grow, but it will also improve the moisture | | | | avoid using magazine's glossy paper. Sawdust, great |
| retention of any soil. | | | | for blueberries, delivers great aeration and ensures |
| Fertility is also improved when mulch is added to a | | | | good soil acidification for berry plants. |
| problem soil, hops which are use for beer making, can | | | | Salt hay, it grows in meadows and lowlands near |
| be very helpful in improving sandy soil conditions, the | | | | bodies of saltwater, it is good source of trace |
| humus that the hosp deliver on the grown will | | | | minerals it remains stiff on the grown and can be |
| improve water retention and fertility, will aid with | | | | reused the following year, or it can be used |
| aeration and will loosen the soil getting it prepare for | | | | year-round. it is very good mulch for strawberries. |
| planting time. | | | | Rotted pinewood, it is excellent for mulching |
| Composting kitchen scraps will provide you with a | | | | acid-loving plants. Peat moss is an old standby for |
| simple and inexpensive way to create your own | | | | gardeners, excavated from natural peat bogs, |
| mulch, ensure that there is no animal oil, meat or | | | | compressed into bales and marketed commercially. |
| blood before composting kitchen scraps, add egg | | | | Good for improving moisture retention, it forms a |
| shells and coffee grounds to aid with calcium and | | | | crust over the beds that needs to be broken with a |
| acidity deficiency. | | | | rake as soon as it forms. |
| Cocoa hulls is a great mulching material, specially if the | | | | Materials for mulching are easy to find, and often can |
| deficiency of the soil consists in little to no water | | | | be obtained for free or next to nothing. Many |
| retention. Cocoa hulls absorb two times it's weight in | | | | gardeners page through the yellow pages and make |
| water, giving the soil the much needed moisture for | | | | a list of promising firms from whom they can obtain |
| plantation. Alfalfa hay, is rich in nitrogen it will deliver | | | | materials for mulching, lumber companies, mills, meat |
| the necessary nitrogen content that fruit trees need. | | | | packing houses, dairies, leather tanneries, riding |
| Leaves, the best way to use leaves is shredded or | | | | stables among other firms. |
| mixed with other light materials, leaves have also high | | | | Once your soil has been mulched, the garden plants |
| nitrogen content and will enrich the soil's condition | | | | will benefit greatly form the nutrients added through |
| greatly. | | | | mulch materials. |