Mulching Technique

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?GLJCP 26 May 2012 Garden all Mulched.
Finished mulching the vegetable garden with wood chips. My primary purpose is to retain moisture. Plants were hand watered by pail as deemed necessary. The moisture situation is almost critical, since there was only one reasonable rain during April and May. This is not anywhere near normal for this area.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?VLAFP 21 May 2012 Yard. Heavy Wood Chip Mulching
My plants are all heavily mulched with wood chips. It is preferable to heavily mulch the vegetable garden after a heavy rainfall. But mulching any time is beneficial.Mulching for conditioning soil is probably he most important single operation that can be practiced. It is found that the mulch disappears in about a year and I am constantly replenishing.I do no use the long term mulch like cedar or similar. I want the product to break down and improve the soil. In my small yard I use about 15 cubic yards each year.In addition compost is added as required. If the wood chips are worked into the soil in the Fall, I add a bit of urea (Nitrogen) to replenish the nitrogen used in the composting of the wood chips. Bare, exposed soil is neither beneficial to man or plant.