How do I mulch my garden and save water?

As the temperature rises, water loss from the soil surface and from the foliage of many plants increases. Most of south-eastern Australia's seasonal rainfall will have fallen by now so it's important to prevent evaporative water loss from the soil surface. For gardeners who have not yet mulched their gardens, now is the time to get it done. Applying mulches has the major benefit of saving water by sealing the soil surface from sun and wind but beyond that it has other major benefits including:
reducing weed growth improving soil structure, providing you use organic mulches that ultimately break down in the soil increasing micro-organism and worm activity in the soil, thus improving soil health modifying soil temperature, thereby providing a more healthy root environment offering an attractive surface dressing to the soil providing a 'clean' surface for crops, eg strawberries, and reducing garden maintenance.

My normal advice to gardeners is to feed their plants at the same time that they mulch, however Debco's Mulch 'n' Feed overcomes the need for these two steps, by combining a high quality organic mulch with a slow-release fertiliser to achieve all the objectives of mulching while feeding at the same time! Perfect for the gardener with little spare time.

In addition, Mulch 'n' Feed includes a clay breaking catalyst that helps to improve your soil, giving your garden real long-term benefits.

Debco Mulch 'n' Feed comes in convenient clean plastic bags – no mess in your car, no mess in the house, and no shovelling – so its easy to carry around your garden and to apply to the soil surface. Before you do so, make sure your garden is thoroughly weeded. Ensure perennial weeds like couch have been pulled out or poisoned. These weeds will not only look unattractive in your garden, they also compete for water and nutrients with your garden plants.

Now make sure your garden is moist. If it isn't already, then thoroughly water it – you could leave your drip irrigation system on for some time to achieve this or simply use the hose though you must make sure the water is penetrating the soil. If it is simply running off it may be because the soil is hydrophobic. The answer may be SaturAid - it's effective and easy to apply.

Now with your garden beds nicely moist you can mulch them with Mulch 'n' Feed. Apply the mulch as a good thick layer over the soil areas, carefully making sure you don't build it up around the stems or trunks of plants, and carefully placing it beneath foliage.

Though Mulch 'n' Feed is easy to wash off your hands, you would be best to use gardening gloves when you place the mulch in the garden. There could be spiders or other nasties hidden beneath foliage.

An 80mm layer of Mulch 'n' Feed will give you an effective mulch. Now water your garden again to settle the mulch down, pour yourself a relaxing cup of tea, and sit back and enjoy the benefits of less work and a healthy, thriving garden.