I’m so excited for all the living mulch questions. I’ve been getting so many I figured an FAQ page is called for.
If living mulch is a new concept for you, take it easy and let it settle in – don’t overthink it and make it trickier than it is – give it a go. Doing it is the only way to get the hang of it.
If I haven’t answered your question here, ask it in the comments below and I’ll add it to the post. Enjoy!
Does a living mulch compete with crops for water and nutrients?
No siree, the opposite is true. Competition is the old paradigm, from when we didn’t understand about the soil food web, from when we believed that we needed to feed the soil with compost, fert et all in order to meet plants nutritional needs.
Turns out only about 2-3% of a plants needs comes from the organic matter we add e.g. compost, mulch, manure…, the rest of plants needs are met via soil microbes that live in, on, around plant roots. What a paradigm shift!
- Each microbe (bacteria, archea, fungi, protozoa) has a specialist function e.g. associated with a particular mineral or action.
- Each plant family hosts a unique combo of microbes.
The maths goes like this: 6+ plant families growing together = a diversity of soil microbes = a naturally healthy garden.
Far from competitive, a diverse living mulch facilitates a happening, below ground community of microbes that cooperate in a vibrant, resource sharing network. Just as nature intended.
Will a living mulch attract slugs and snails?
If you have slugs and snails you have slugs and snails! A study in the UK found that the average British garden has 35,000 molluscs. Wowser.
Molluscs eat mostly decaying plant matter and are an important part of organic matter cycling. Yes, there are still plenty of them in a living mulch but the damage is not devastating – better certainly than using mulch. We’ll never be rid of slugs and snails – accept them and manage them as best you can by noting the seasons when burden is high and perhaps reducing mulch and living mulch during those times. Night hunts in spring and autumn are most effective.
Which plants do I use for a living mulch?
A mixture of whatever! That’s the fun bit – crops, greencrops, flowers, herbs. Choose open pollinated or heirloom seeds so that you can save your own seed ever after. Choose the plants you use and the plants you love, and make sure they match the season.
The key thing is to hit 6 different families – a bit of learning is required here, but its not hard with the internet at your fingertips.
Where can I buy a good living mulch seed mix?
I’m a fan of buying individual seeds, and brewing up a bespoke mix of 6+ families as needed. Here’s an example:
Lets say I’m planting a bed with broccoli (brassica family), celery (apiaceae family) and spring onions (allium family) – I’m already at 3 plant families! Actually at 4 because there are self sown calendula (asteraceae) in the bed. To take it up to 6+ I’ll dip into my seed stash and sow a mix around the seedlings when I plant them.
I always like to include a tap root, a legume, a grass, and a flower. Into a small jar I pop some lupin and vetch (legume family), oats (poaceae), daikon (brassica) and phacelia (boraginaceae). Huzzah! 7 plant families – fertile, beautiful + easy peasy.
My soil is dry, how do I water it if the soil is covered in plants?
Dry soil is unhealthy soil. Long term, look to creating healthy soil. Healthy soil is like a sponge – it soaks up every single drop of water and holds it. Even in low rainfall places, healthy soil needs very little watering.
Short term, hand-watering is your best bet so you can get to the soil at the base of your plants and be targeted with your water use. More effort – yes, for sure! but its only short term while you create your spongy landscape.
Do this with plants. The microbes that live on plant roots drive good aggregation, especially where roots get down into the sub soil. Surround your veggie patch with perennial companions, plant as many trees and perennials as your land can take (without blocking light to your veggies!), and let your lawns and pasture grow long between cutting or grazing. Homegrown Fruit: A Practical guide, my latest book, walks you through creating a spongy landscape, or read through my soil health collection to get a good idea.
Does a living mulch work for fruit trees and flowers as well?
Yes! Use this pattern for every garden – shelter, pasture, lawn, flowers. The very same benefits apply – less inputs needed, better health, less pests and disease, less work ….
You say to chop-and-drop living mulch – how and when?
Chop-and-drop is just as it sounds – chop plants that impede the light or air getting to your crop. As you walk through your patch snap off the bits that are too rambunctious. Easy-peasy, and so much more friendly than weeding, for you and the soil.
When its hot and dry leave more cover, when its damp and cool leave less. It’s a nuanced thing, but its also very pragmatic – don’t over think it!
Chop-and-drop applies to support trees, and groundcovers around fruit trees too. Read more about chop-and-drop here.
Can weeds be a living mulch?
Yes! Weeds are mineral rich powerhouses and soil healing friends. Its all about workability though. Gentle edible weeds like chickweed, dandelion, some grasses, plantain – work within a living mulch brilliantly – use them! Tougher, more determined weeds like buttercup, california thistle and dock however, I’m not keen on in my veggie patch, but don’t mind around fruit trees. Observe your weed and note its growing style before deciding its fate.
What’s the difference between a living mulch and a greencrop?
A greencrop is a plant that nourishes the soil.
A living mulch is a collection of plants that keep the soil covered.
Use greencrops as part of your living mulch.
The Genius of Living Mulch
Living mulch (covering the ground with plants) has all the same benefits as mulch (leaves, hay, woodchip et all), but with bonuses. Plants bring the x factor because they have roots, and on, in and around those roots live soil microbes. Soil microbes are the heart and soul of awesome
