Got mulch?
If you grow herbs out in the garden there is a good chance you’ll encounter dry stretches during the growing season. A good mulch can help cool the soil, suppress weeds, and retain moisture in your herb garden, all while looking good.
Herbs do not usually require mulching, but you may want to provide mulch for the reasons just mentioned…
There are many types of mulch available
Among them are wood chips, recycled rubber, cocoa shell mulch, and many more.
Personally I stick to wood chips in my herb garden, but do some checking around on the different types available.
As always if you plan to eat or drink your harvested herbs, use a mulch that is non toxic!
Don’t mulch all the way up to the plant stem.
Leave a few inches of bare soil around the base of the plant. This one little tip will help to keep fungal diseases at bay
in damp conditions.
Remember the benefits of mulch?
Today I’ll tell you when you should not use it!
If you have any areas that stay continually moist, you do not need mulch-especially with herbs. Only a few herbs will tolerate ‘wet feet.’
If you top off a damp area with mulch it can become a breeding ground for fungal growth.
I mentioned learning about the different types of mulches.
I use wood chips. I like them. They are also plentiful in my area, so that’s what I have in my herb garden.
Many counties and cities have wood chips available. Often following storms they will cut down trees, remove limbs and have tons of chipped or shredded bark for the taking. You can often get these chips inexpensively, or in my case ‘donated’ by grateful tree trimming guys needing a dumping ground.
Please don’t use Black Walnut tree bark to mulch your herb garden-even if someone pays you to to take the stuff!
Walnut trees contain a compound called juglone that inhibits seed germination and kills young plants.
This walnut tree rule holds true for herbs, flowering plants and vegetables. Planting your flowers, vegetables or herbs too close to a Walnut tree will also give you the same unhappy results. Darn it.
You know, you can always grow in pots if you have a walnut grove!
Source: Gardening 101 com