With Spencer Shaw – FOREST HEART Eco-Nursery
We all know that mulches are great for creating and building soils, but the majority of mulches we use in our gardens are ones that we buy in. But what if you could grow your own mulch?
All plants naturally produce mulch as they shed leaves, stems, bark, branches and eventually themselves as they die and decompose. Plants, through their shade, organic matter and their symbiotic relationship with mycorrhizal fungi, enrich the soil for future generations of plants and everything else.
We can manage this process for our own benefit by planting and working with fast-growing plants that provide mulch through their natural leaf fall or through pruning and lopping.
Native plants that are great for soil improvement include our native hibiscus, native mulberry and of course our legumes (who have the bonus ability of adding nitrogen to the soil) such as Pultenaea, Hovea and many more.
Diversify your orchard and veggie patch by incorporating these plants into your plantings. These plants, if managed, will provide shade and protection from the intense summer sun and strong winds, provide habitat for pest-controlling birds and insects, and—when pruned—mulch. Managing these plants is as simple as going for a stroll with your secateurs, loppers or hand saw and pruning to the desired shape that provides shade and protection for your food-bearing plants.
Mulch-providing plants have been used by traditional subtropical farmers for millennia throughout Melanesia, Polynesia, Africa, SE Asia and the Americas. Permaculturists and forest farmers have adopted these techniques in Australia for many decades, but often using exotic plants.
Australia has a great range of plants tried and tested by Indigenous Australians, and it’s time for us to catch up and incorporate our native plants not just into our amenity gardens but into our orchards and vegetable gardens, for both beauty and sustainability.