What is natural mulch?
In addition to sufficient water, soil and light, the life of plants depends on many other things, including natural mulch and its types. Providing each of these mentioned items in sufficient quantity and on time can greatly help the growth, fertility and survival of that plant.
Therefore, if you work in the field of agriculture or if you are one of the people for whom plant growth is important and practical, we suggest that you read this article from Rata Plast carefully.
In this article, we will examine the nature of mulch, its types and applications, and we will also make comparisons about its types. Stay with us.
Everything that is placed on the surface of the soil and protects the underlying layers from various dangers is called soil cover or mulch. The Persian naming of the word mulch is “soil covering”, which seems quite appropriate, because mulch means something that covers and supports the soil.
Mulch sits on top of the soil and can consist of anything such as straw, grass, or chemicals. Basically, the purpose of mulch is to protect the soil and it is mostly soft. Natural mulch and its types are the most used mulches that we will mention.
What do you think? What is natural mulch and why is it called natural? Well, as you thought, natural mulch is a mulch that is made from plant, organic and mineral materials and exists in nature. In fact, it cannot be considered chemical or man-made. Therefore, any mulch that is not natural is considered artificial and these two have different types. Types of natural and synthetic mulches are classified based on their ingredients and use.
The equivalents that can be expressed for natural mulch are biological mulch, biological mulch or organic mulch. In fact, these names all refer to the naturalness of mulch and only their naming is different. Similarly, artificial mulch can be called plastic, polymer, inorganic, or chemical mulch.
Types of natural and artificial mulch
In the past, the use of natural mulch in agriculture was undeniable, but with the progress of time, we come across the production and supply of artificial mulches, which are considered a suitable alternative to natural mulches, and nowadays they are sometimes used more than natural mulch.
Natural mulch and its types
• Tree trunks that are rotten and crushed
• Pieces of tree bark
• Needle leaves
• Car grasses and plants
• Remains of tree leaves
• Straw and fodder
• Sawdust
• Dried herbs
• weed
• Moss and algae
In general, natural soil cover exists on the surface of the soil by itself, but sometimes it is necessary to replace or renew this soil cover based on the conditions. For example, it is possible to reach the conclusion that artificial mulch is a more suitable option by examining the characteristics of the soil. Therefore, natural mulch and its types are replaced with an artificial mulch (industrial mulch).
Types of artificial mulch
• Plastics, especially black plastic
• Polymer materials
• propylene
• Gravel or gravel
It is interesting to know that the classification of stones and pebbles in the category of artificial materials is a bit misleading, and some sources consider this item among mineral mulches, and sometimes they refer to them as unnatural mulches.
Now we want to examine the differences and similarities between “natural mulch and its types” and “artificial mulch types”. Natural and artificial turf have been known as two competitors for years, and it is our job to determine the winner of this competition.
Differences and similarities between natural and artificial soil cover
All kinds of natural and artificial mulches are available in the market for gardeners and farmers, but the thing that causes these people to hesitate in choosing is the lack of knowledge or certainty about the advantages and disadvantages of mulch. Artificial and natural mulch each have their own characteristics that sometimes make it difficult for the buyer to make a decision, but if you have a correct understanding of your purpose and the characteristics of the types of mulch, you can make the right decision.
Distinctive features of natural mulch
Natural mulch helps plant growth more than artificial mulch; By spreading the soil cover in the area, you will provide the materials needed by the plant and improve its growth, but on the other hand, disturbing factors such as plants and weeds may also appear on the soil surface.
Natural mulch acts like a double-edged sword and by increasing the growth rate of the plant, it also increases the growth rate of the invasive plants. When using natural mulch and its types, you should pay attention to the organic substances in the mulch, because each substance has its own unique effect on the plant. So it is necessary to increase your knowledge in this field.
The effectiveness of natural mulch depends a lot on whether it is wet or dry. If the mulch is more moist, the speed of its decomposition will increase and the nutrients will reach the soil and thus the plant faster. Dry mulch decomposes slowly but does not allow weeds to emerge.
Distinctive features of synthetic mulch
Artificial turf was created based on a need; A need that would never arise if natural mulch was able to fulfill it. Therefore, natural soil cover cannot meet some needs and artificial and improved ones should be used. All kinds of synthetic mulch are among these new materials that meet the needs.
Artificial soil cover or plastic mulch is a material that covers the soil and acts as an insulator. These materials are difficult to decompose, so they do not need to be renewed or replaced, and the farmer does not need to constantly replace this mulch, but on the other hand, any type of plastic material is considered an enemy of nature and soil. Plastics do not decompose for many years and remain in nature; So they can be harmful. Also, some of their decomposed substances are dangerous and harmful for the soil, organisms and ecosystem.
Synthetic mulch can maintain soil moisture and prevent it from evaporating due to heat. Instead, it prevents nutrients from reaching the soil. Many artificial turfs are black in color, which causes the absorbed heat to increase and the surface of the plastic mulch to become hot. Heating the mulch destroys car plants and weeds and prevents their growth. Of course, we should not forget that high heat also destroys beneficial microscopic organisms in the soil.
The high durability of artificial mulches has made many people use this type of mulch. High durability is directly related to reducing soil erosion. Therefore, the plant is protected from harmful factors.
Common features of natural and synthetic mulches
Natural and synthetic mulches are essentially the same. Both are used to cover the surface of the soil and protect it, but plastic or synthetic mulch can be considered a stronger type of natural mulch. For a better understanding, suppose you are holding a clay tablet and a ceramic tablet. Ceramics can be compared to artificial mulch and pottery to natural mulch.
The existence of natural and artificial types of anything in the world creates a kind of competition. For example, herbal and chemical medicines have always been in competition with each other and have their own fans. In a similar way, natural mulch and its types are a milder, more useful and less harmful form of mulch, which has attracted people to produce chemical mulch because of its problems.
In fact, nowadays man wants to grow and protect his plant without growing weeds, without constant replacement of mulch and without trouble, due to the desire for convenience and comfort in work. Therefore, he accepts some of the disadvantages of artificial mulch and uses it. On the other hand, some people still insist on using natural mulch and taking advantage of its benefits and use this type of mulch.
Which mulch is better?
If you remember, we said that we want to determine the winner of the natural and artificial mulch competition (industrial mulch). Well, we have to admit that there are more fans of natural mulch and divine blessings and creations cannot be considered equal to man-made ones, but artificial mulch can be improved, its disadvantages removed and its uses utilized.
Today, scientists are working hard to find a better alternative to plastic and non-biodegradable chemicals. If this is the case, the advantage may be attributed to artificial mulch. Despite all these situations, the use of natural mulch in agriculture is undeniable and cannot be eliminated forever. You can take advantage of the existence of these two mulches together by using some tricks.
Advantages of using natural mulch and its types
We summarize the previous part of our conversation in this article from the Rata Plast blog as follows.
The growth of plants and weeds, the increase in moisture evaporation with the increase in air temperature, the lack of high resistance to erosion, the need for constant replacement and messing up the appearance of the agricultural land and garden are among the negative points of this mulch, which sometimes make farmers to Encourages the use of plastic mulch.
At the same time, all kinds of artificial mulch show the appearance of the garden or the ground regularly and create a certain order. They prevent excessive evaporation and erosion and stop the growth of annoying plants.
Tips to follow when using mulch
All types of natural and artificial mulches lose their effectiveness if not used properly. In this section, we want to convey some tips to increase your work efficiency by doing them.
If you use artificial mulch, you can create holes in it so that moisture can easily reach the soil and your soil does not dry out. In addition, you can use natural mulch and its types in addition to plastic mulch. We suggest that you spread some natural mulch over the artificial mulch. By doing this, you will supply the materials needed by the soil and plants.
Don’t worry about weeds! Heat on the surface of the plastic will prevent the growth of these nuisances. We recommend using natural mulch over plastic mulch in summer, because the high heat of black plastic in summer can kill the plant. Using a layer of natural mulch can balance this heat.
If you only use natural mulch, it is better to use wet material in summer and dry material in winter. Mulch provides moisture to the soil and plants in summer and moderates the temperature. In winter, as the temperature drops, dry materials lose their heat more slowly, and this makes the soil stay warm and the plant does not freeze.
Try to spread the natural mulch evenly. If you leave areas thick and thin, the chances of weeds growing in the thin areas will increase and the overall balance of the area will be disturbed. It is also recommended to remove the mulches from the side of the tree trunks in autumn. This will be useful for thickening the bark and trunk of the trees.
If you plan to spread the soil cover according to each season, then you should act a little earlier. For example, spread the winter mulch in the months of November and December, and on the other hand, to welcome the summer, spring months are recommended.
final word
We introduced natural mulch and its types in this article from the Rata Plast website blog and talked about their features. Of course, we all know that sometimes this mulch cannot meet the needs. Therefore, some types of artificial mulch are used alone, and some still like to use the benefits of natural mulch; As a result, they benefit from their combination.
Our final advice is to decide based on your soil type and plant needs. If you are confused in making a decision, be sure to consult with our experts at Rata Plast Agricultural Plastics Manufacturing Company so that the result is productive.
