Whether compost, manure or wood chippings, a thick protective layer has a litany of benefits

“Mulch, I think, is one of my favourite gardening words. There’s something onomatopoeic about it: conjuring the soft, damp nourishment of the work it does to the soil.

In the simplest terms mulching is adding rotted-down plant matter to your soil to feed and nourish it. As with everything in the garden, however, people do like to complicate it.