Self-Mulching Soil for Lower-Maintenance Garden Beds — Materials, Layering, and Renewal Cycles
Self-mulching soil for lower-maintenance garden beds is built by keeping the surface covered with plant residues that decompose where they fall, rather than repeatedly exposing or digging the soil. Chopped leaves, fine stems, finished compost, and living groundcovers protect soil aggregates, moderate moisture loss, feed decomposer organisms, and suppress many annual weeds.