Living mulch (covering the soil with plants), is the most nourishing mulch of all. A soil covered with plants is alive! Living on and in and around plant roots is a diversity of soil life forms – fungi, nematodes, protozoa, bacteria, arthropods and of course worms, these team up with plants and are the ultimate soil building, plant health bringing team. The more diverse the collection of roots in the soil the better.
Think prairie, meadow, forest – all are covered in a rich diversity of plants and all are self sustaining “gardens” that need no care, no fertiliser, no weeding. Lets bring all this goodness to our vegie gardens, and get as close to natural rhythms as we can for the ease it brings, its sheer brilliance and to put our best foot forward for our mother earth.
3 ways to a living mulch
Living mulch fills the gap where weeds would grow and adds layers of benefit besides – fodder for beneficial insects, material for compost piles and home grown mulch, an array of shapes and scents to confuse pests, a humming soil life, a beautiful garden + extra cropping if you use herbs or food or picking flowers.
Living mulches are any plants! Greencrops, or flowers or crops.
- Sow or plant the new crop amongst soon to be finished, older crops. This mimics the age old cycle of the young coming up under the wing of the elder – what a difference to new seedlings when they are not on their own, out in the open! I love the time efficiency here – harvesting the old crop while the new crop gets it grow on means far less downtime between the two. As the new crop grows and builds in strength, slowly chop the older crop back in order to create enough light and space. Return the chopped bits as mulch. Nourishment plus + oh so easy.
- In a similar fashion, transplant seedlings amongst established greencrops. Simply make little pockets in the greencrop, add a dollop of compost if need be and plant away. Chop and drop to let light in as the crop grows.
- Sow or plant a living mulch at the same time you sow or plant the crop. Choose fast growing groundcovers like crimson clover, phacelia or mustard or a mixture of all three. Add edibles like radish, dwarf beans, beetroot – the worlds your oyster! The key is to work it like a puzzle and choose a mixture of plants that all fit together without competing for the same niche – some upright, some low groundcover, plus nectar and pollen for benies. Include some quick crops and some slower ones. My book goes into the nitty grittys.
With practise you’ll have with very little garden downtime (bare soil). Downtime = less cropping. Downtime = weeds = more work. The trick is to replace finished crops right away with a scattering of seed or new seedlings. If you are sowing and planting in a little and often way, this is a quick and easy job.
Let your favourite green crops, herbs, leafy greens and flowers go to seed and the matter of keeping a living mulch going may be in hand without you getting involved. Ha! now you’re cooking with gas!
A living mulch example
Plant corn seedlings. Beneath them sow crimson clover (nitrogen fixing + bees), calendula and phacelia (soil building + bees). Plant a few squash seedlings on the sunny side of the corn, amongst the clover and phacelia seed. Plant salad greens, spinach and beetroot in little pockets along the picking edge.
This bed has it all: quick crops for a harvest soon (salads, spinach + beetroot), and slow growing, longer term crops (corn and squash). Plants for beneficial insects, nitrogen fixation + living mulch – no room for weeds and no problems with birds scratching or cat toliets. Though the bed is jammed full, all the plants have their own place. It’s really no big deal to over plant – any extras can be broken off and laid back down as mulch.
Where does mulch fit in?
This isn’t a case of swapping one for the other, mulch has its well earned place. Look to nature. She sheds her skin all the time, drifting it back to earth to cycle through the soil. The two work in tandem, though for best soil, lean on living mulch.
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This is an ace article, Kath! Thank you.
I’ve only recently learned to embrace all those plants that have naturally found spaces amongst my intended cropped. I used to weed them out but that only left gaps and bare soil. Now I let chickweed run free!
Happy New Year to you and Matt.
And to you and Jen also Glen! Its so wonderful what comes with stilling the weeding hands and leaving things be a little. I wonder where our garden journey will take us this year. much love K x
I tried planting crimson clover under my corn and letting self seeded celery have its way. Wow. What a healthy thriving bed. Corn has grown faster than any previous crop, I don’t have the problem of keeping up with the watering and the celery is tender and tall! It’s so simple!
Thats so awesome Suzanne. Plants helping plants 🙂
Hi,
I’m new to gardening this year and not sure where to start with the living mulch. i have veggies in my bed and interplanted with flowers and herbs but i think i was a bit too hesitant as there are still rather big gaps. i want to have more living mulch, what would you recommend? i have mostly tomatoes, and capsicum (which is not doing very well atm), also lettuce, kale, cucumber. my corn is almost done and i was planning to sow carrots there…. what kind of living mulch could i plant and also what do i have to consider for them to germinate (have not been lucky this spring with seeds)
Fill any gaps with greencrops. Have to hand a few types of seed so you can easily toss the seed in. Check out my blog for how to sow a greencrop if need be. Use low growing ones beneath crops and taller ones in open spaces. Mix a few different seed together. Or pile mulch in the bare spots. Or fill them with seedlings of whatever you wish! Enjoy
Hi – I was taught that mulch needs to be composted or broken down material. Apparently this is because the green stuff will remove nitrogen from the soil beneath it as it decomposes. Have you come across this idea?
Morena Kath, Indeed yes I have – however the great news is that soil life is so varied and complex and adept at managing raw material we dont really need to worry ourselves with these kinds of details. Green stuff isnt all about nitrogen – every stalk containing some carbon and some nitrogen. As in all things the key is to make a mixture. If you pile on for example a thick layer of very fresh grass you will perhaps notice an impact of the plants – and herein lies the heart of it all – try stuff and rather than trusting someone elses experience – trust what you see. If your garden flourishes then all is well and good.
Look at mulch as the roof over the soil thats providing safe harbour for the soil life and a fresh supply of fodder for them as well. Mulch is the raw stuff, compost the broken down stuff.
I hope this helps K x
Hi, awesome article, I also start to experiment with living mulch (easier, simplier, healthier !). I am wondering if you have experienced anything with new plants planted around other plants going to seed ? Theoritically, they might get the information that it is seeding time and go straight to seed ?
I realized recently how mint is actually a great one to loosen the soil, and seemed to have a nice carbon/nitrogen ratio when decomposing.
Hi Margaux, no I havent noticed seeding plants triggering others too seed in my garden. Every bed is a mix of young and old seedlings/ plants and they jog along plenty fine. Love your observations and wonderings here. Happy gardening, Kath