Mulch

I want to take a moment to explore the concept of mulch. It comes in several varieties at the home improvement store. Having worked there, I recall pine bark, hardwood, died hardwood (in red and black), natural cedar, and treated mulch which usually contained some type of weed deterent to keep weeds from growing up through the mulch. I recently discovered cocoa mulch which is made out of parts of the seeds of the cocoa plant. It's a nice dark color and when first put on the ground it confuses the neighbors because they think you're baking brownies. Even yet, there is non-roganic mulch made of rubber. Is that something we really want to be throwing around the ground? It is an oil product after all. It'll never decompose, so it is somewhat economical, but the lack of decomposition will take away from the nutrients in the soil.

In the South - namely Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, they use pine needles. The long pine needles are used over areas that are needing mulch almost exclusively and sold in large bales instead of in bags or in bulk trucks.

Why? I've always wondered why the south uses such mulch, but the north has such a variety. Moreover, why don't we just use the natural leaves that fall around the yard and rake them into the gardens for mulch.

A wise gardener plants the perennials so close that mulching becomes nearly unnecessary. Is this the wisest and most economical decision?

Why mulch? To cover the ground to prevent weeds - but it also adds to the manicured look, a sign of wealth? Mulch also helps the earth retain moisture and keep from erroding and washing away, leaving one's plants as dry little twigs.

What a strange invention - mulch. http://web.extension.illinois.edu/springfieldcenter/iclgarden/060401.html - Dave Robson links mulch back to the ancient Egyptians. It's difficult to argue that the Egyptians didn't need mulch in their location. It was, after all, a desert for the most part.

Robson also explains that mulch is a sign of civilization. How remarkable, that the rise and fall of civilization could be based on mulch.