Explore the magic of mulch

In a forest, most of the ground is covered with mulch – fallen leaves, flowers, twigs and fruit. In the garden, all organic material can be used as mulch. Mulches can prevent up to 75 per cent of water loss from evaporation. If you can, use what's native to your area to recycle local materials.

• The best time to apply mulch is in spring, but keep it topped up throughout the year. The key is to avoid leaving any soil bare, so always mulch around new plantings straight away.
• Prepare the ground. Dig out all traces of perennial weeds, and water garden beds before and after applying mulch.
• Spread mulch over the soil and around the base of plants. Don't mound it around stems and trunks as it can cause rot. Aim for a depth of about 7.5 to 10 centimetres (three to four inches).
• If you use organic mulch, add an organic fertilizer, such as chicken manure, because the mulch tends to rob the soil of nitrogen as it breaks down.
• Mulch around fruit and vegetables, such as strawberries and tomatoes, to keep the produce clean and help prevent soil-borne disease from attacking crops.
• Prevent mulch such as gravel from spilling out onto the lawn by installing a solid edge around all your garden beds.
• Apply mulch to the garden after rain or a thorough watering in order to retain moisture in the soil.

• If there's enough waste material in your garden to recycle regularly, buy a shredder and use disease-free garden prunings.
• If you don't have a shredder but you do have a lot of pruning to do, rent one for a day. Aim to produce a load that is big enough to last for months in your garden. Share the cost of renting with a neighbour if you can.
• Run over leaves and small prunings with the lawnmower to make an instant mulch. Collect and put it on garden beds.
• Collect fallen leaves in autumn and put them straight onto garden beds. Extra leaves can be stored in heaps to break down into leaf mould.
• Start a compost heap. Having a place to put plant waste will help to keep the garden tidy, and well-rotted compost makes an excellent mulch.

• Mulch does not attract frost. It actually protects plant roots and bulbs underground from cold damage.
• Thicker is not necessarily better: if mulch is too thick it may stop moisture from reaching the soil.