Mulch

Question

I know that if you loosen the earth round the stem of your plants, that’s mulching; but when it says to use mulch, what does it mean?

Answer 1

Mulch is any kind of ground cover used around plants. Common mulches are wood chips, straw, grass clippings and stones. Mulch is used to keep the soil cool, to reduce evaporation so that more water can get to the plants and to reduce the number of weeds around the plant so there is not as much competition with the plant.