Mulching Your Vegetable Plot in Winter

Posted on 20. Nov, 2010 by Tracey in How To Grow Veg

What is Mulching?
A Mulch is a blanket material which is spread over the top of the soil to provide protection and insulation over the winter months. It acts as a weed suppressant and keeps an even soil temperature preventing your plant roots from freezing.

In the winter, soil will expand and contract with the various temperature fluctuations and this causes damage to sensitive plant roots or bulbs in the ground. Mulches when applied at the right time, can often keep moisture in the soil and some provide extra nutrients throughout the winter period.

Mulch Materials include:

Straw,
Wood Bark,
Shredded Leaves,
Newspaper,
Compost,
Grass Clippings,
Pebbles

When is the best time to Mulch?
This is a good question because if you mulch too early you risk increasing growth by giving warmth to the plant roots, however if the plant is then attacked by frost, it can be placed under stress and be susceptible to disease later in the year.

Mulching should start after 2 or 3 hard frosts i.e. when the ground has been frozen. This allows any plants to go into dormancy and will prevent the constant cracking and heaving of the soil.

Things To Consider when Mulching

Consider which material you mulch with carefully. Use compost or shredded leaves if you want to rake this into your beds in spring. If you use pebbles, straw, grass clippings etc you will need to remove these materials in spring.
Pebbles, gravel and crushed shells are best used for mulching pots and containers,
Remove any weeds before mulching,
Remove any pests like slugs before mulching and keep an eye out for them once mulched,
Water the soil before mulching,
Make sure there are no gaps in the mulch as this will make it in-effective,
Spread the mulch around the plants but leaving gaps around the stems.