aquaponic organic

The use of plastic mulch is becoming more commonly used in the home garden. In an organic garden it can do more harm than good if not used correctly. Plastic mulch is a quick and easy way of controlling weeds but can damage the soil and the plants you are growing.There is a time and a place that it should be used.

Organic gardening is a method of gardening in harmony with nature. It is done by creating a healthy natural environment for your plants to thrive. This environment is one that includes a soil that has a highly populated community of life in it. This life is made up of microorganisms, fungi, bacteria, insects along with many more organisms.

This living community in the soil is what works the soil by breaking down the organic matter in the soil and turning it into nutrients that your plants can thrive on. Without this life in the soil you would have a soil that very few plants would survive in.

The use of plastic mulch is a very effective way to control weed problems in the garden and can also harm the soil at the same time by heating the soil to a temperature that the living organisms in it can't survive in. The use of plastic is a method that is also used to sterilize soil and should be used as the last resort.

When using plastic as a mulch the temperature needs to be monitored regularly. Heating the soil around your plants can bake there root system. Only use it when needed and when the temperatures of the hot summer months get hot just pull back the plastic from around the plants to there drip line and replace with an organic mulch to help retain moisture.

The use of plastic mulch is an excellent way to heat the soil temperatures in the early spring and left in place to get your plants started early.