Nebraska must love me. They have to with all the mulch I’ve put out to blow their way. I’m not quite sure why I still bother. I suppose it’s foolish hope.
There is a reason mulch is praised so highly in Permaculture. Natural mulching is the ideal. Having enough plants and trees that their own natural growth patterns create the detritus that cover the ground. Living the dream.
I’m not living the dream. I’m living the dead land, high wind, low precipitation life. As such I keep spreading mulch out around the property. Then I watch it blow away, to Nebraska. *sigh*
So drumroll please, I’ve mulched the cider orchard. I am about to share my magical mulching secrets.
First I put a collar around all of the trees again. I take them off in the spring because the trees are so small and the collar covers them completely.
Next I water the trees well. It hasn’t rained in months. The cider orchard trees were planted so I can water them, they are expensive.
Next I rip open the glorious bags of mulch. These bags come from my former boss’s residence. I happen to know they are completely organic so I feel no guilt in using the leaves and clippings from their lawn.
I piled the leaves high. I figure if they’re going to blow away best to give them a sufficient mass to move.
I give it a few weeks, or days, depending on wind speeds. I’m happy right now, though.
You might have a little better luck keeping those leaves around if you shred them first ((ither with a chipper/shredder or just run them over with a bagging mower) . After that water the mulch good to give it some weight…..or you could put your leaves down then pile some rocks on top of that. Stones make a pretty darn good mulch in their own right, you just don’t get the buildup oo organic matter, but you will increase moisture and soil life underneath them, plus it takes a helluva breeze to blow them into the next state!