If you’re like most people, you’ve probably got a few plants around your home. Maybe you’ve got little succulents in a pot by the window or perhaps some flowers in your garden. Either way, taking care of them is essential.
Yet, did you know that taking care of your plants doesn’t just mean watering them or ensuring they have enough light?
In fact, there are many simple things you can do to make sure your plants stay healthy and happy—including taking a look at their soil cover!
So, today we’ll talk about how to keep your plants’ soil healthy so that they can thrive.
What Is Soil Cover?
As the name suggests, a soil cover is basically a layer of organic or non-organic material that you lay over your plant’s soil.
It’s critical to the soil’s health as it protects it from various natural elements. Soil covers can be anything from leaves and compost to rocks. Sometimes, gardeners use a combination of multiple materials to achieve the best results possible.
Why Use Soil Cover?
In its essence, a soil cover is there to protect your plantation and keep everything healthy. For starters, it helps the ground retain more moisture during summer days, which is excellent for gardens prone to droughts.
Moreover, its ability to keep the ground moist helps you save a lot of money in the long run by cutting down on your water bill.
Soil covers also provide a layer of protection over any plants’ roots, which helps the plants from getting harmed by pests and their pathogens.
What’s more, it shields the soil from harsh natural elements like strong winds or snow, allowing the plants to thrive in a healthy environment.
In short, by shielding the ground with a protective cover, you’re helping your plants grow healthier and stronger.
What Are Different Types of Soil Cover?
There are several types of soil covers, organic and non-organic, each with advantages and disadvantages.
To help you get a clearer picture, here’s a list of the most common ones:
- Shredded Leaves
Shredded leaves are one of the best types of mulch soil covers out there. They’re highly effective at keeping the ground moist, which is essential for young plants.
On top of that, because they’re a natural substance, they add valuable nutrients to the soil, such as humus, once they decompose.
Plus, they’re super easy to find—all you have to do is rake up some leaves from your yard! Their main drawback is that it doesn’t look attractive, which may put off some gardeners.
- Wood Chips
Another organic form of mulch cover is wood chips. These are the perfect option for anyone looking to make their garden look attractive while improving the soil’s health.
Wood chips are excellent at keeping weeds at bay as well as retaining moisture in the soil. And just like shredded leaves, once they decompose, they set off a significant load of valuable nutrients into the ground.
The only concern with wood chips is that they’re not that effective at keeping pests at bay.
- Compost
Unlike the previous two options, compost isn’t just made out of one thing; it’s a mixture of organic materials like grass clippings, shredded leaves, and even food waste.
It’s primarily used to help improve the land’s biological and chemical properties. Consequently, gardeners use it beneath the soil and not as the cover to ensure it gets into the soil and does its job effectively.
However, you can definitely use it as a soil cover! Compost helps improve the soil’s texture and contains nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that are essential for plant growth.
One disadvantage to using compost is that it smells unpleasant and looks unappealing.
- Rocks
Though they might not sound as appealing as the first couple of options, rocks are a great soil cover. They ensure that no water evaporates during sunny days and that the soil is well aerated.
Moreover, they’re one of the most aesthetically pleasing covers because they come in many shapes and forms.
Nevertheless, unlike organic mulch, rocks take years and years to decompose. As a result, they don’t add any immediate value to the soil.
Plus, the rocks won’t absorb or block any water from getting to the soil if it rains. So chances are, the earth will get over-saturated, which could lead to root rot.
- Plastic Sheeting
Although plastic covers help protect the soil from strong winds and heavy rains, they’re less than ideal for multiple reasons.
First, plastic coverings can get very hot on sunny days, which is very damaging for the roots.
Secondly, they don’t add any nutritional value to the dirt. Last but not least, it’s not very appealing to have plastic sheeting in your garden!
So unless it’s necessary to use them, we recommend going with other options.
What Are the Best Soil Covers?
Sadly, the answer to this question isn’t as straightforward as we hoped it might be. You see, your choice of soil cover depends on your needs.
So instead of listing all the best available covers, we’ll focus on what you might need!
Soil Cover for Gardening
Wood chips are the best possible choice for covering your garden soil. You can arrange them around the flowers and plants to look like they’re a part of the general landscape.
Though they may not be the best when it comes to fending off pests, they won’t look too out of place in the middle of the garden.
Soil Cover for Indoor Plants
Because indoor plants don’t have to deal with the elements as much as the ones planted outside, you won’t need to use a heavy cover like shredded leaves.
Instead, you can simply use tiny rocks and pebbles for indoor plants.
They’ll be able to retain moisture while still allowing the soil to breathe. Moreover, they look extra chic in a modern office or household.
Soil Cover for Agriculture
When it comes to agriculture, making sure that the plants survive and thrive is essential. That’s why you’ll need something potent to help the soil, like compost.
As we explained earlier, compost contains all the necessary nutrients to help plants grow because it contains various recycled organic matter. As a result, it’s an excellent fertilizer for agriculture.
Soil Cover for Sandy Soil
For sandy soil, you need to focus on two things. First, sandy soil doesn’t retain moisture like other types, so it needs a cover to help it in that area.
Second, natural elements—like strong winds or rain—can drag or move it away from its place.
Therefore, your best choice here would be compost or mulch.
Either one would help the soil retain its moisture and form a protective layer that will help keep it in place.
Benefits of Soil Cover
Soil covers offer your plants a variety of benefits! Here are some of them:
- Weed Suppression
If there’s one common enemy to all plant lovers out there, it’s weeds. Basically, having weeds growing in the middle of your soil is like having a thorn in your side.
They grow alongside your plants and compete for space, food, sunlight, and moisture!
Moreover, weeds can harbor pests and diseases that could harm your garden.
Thankfully, you can suppress weed growth by adding a protective cover to the soil. This way, you won’t have any weeds growing between your plants, and they’ll be able to grow freely without the competition.
- Retain Moisture
Keeping your garden hydrated is 101 in maintaining a happy and healthy garden. However, the soil can dry quickly, especially if you live in an area with a hot climate.
Of course, if your plants don’t get the water they need, their growth will be stunted, and they could even die.
To prevent this, gardeners use soil covers to help protect the land from the sun rays and keep the moisture locked in for extended periods.
- Increase Nutrition
Because soil covers are primarily organic and natural, they’re highly beneficial for your plants. For instance, if you use shredded leaves, you’ll guarantee that your plants get an extra nutritional boost.
Moreover, as it breaks down with time and seeps into the ground, it’ll add to the soil’s organic matter and help improve its quality.
- Prevent Soil Erosion
Whether it’s because of snow, rain, or wind, your land is easily susceptible to erosion. It’s a natural process where the dirt is moved by the elements and carried away.
Sadly, this can lead to serious problems, such as poor soil quality and land degradation, which can harm your garden.
One of the best ways to prevent this is by using a soil cover to keep the dirt in place and prevent it from being carried away.
When to Use Soil Cover
If you want to know when to use soil covers, take a look at your soil—its needs will tell you the answer! For instance, does it look too dry or wind-blown? Is it infested with tiny weeds or pests?
Well, soil covers can help you get rid of all these problems. Plus, organic soil covers provide excellent nutrition to your garden, like humus or potassium.
So, if the plants look like they need a pick-me-up, a layer of compost or shredded leaves could be just what they need.
Final Words
Hopefully, our soil cover guide has helped you understand a little bit more about your garden and how to take care of it.
To summarize, soil covers are an extra layer of organic or non-organic material that you can place on top of the ground to help your garden bloom.
You can use leaves, wood chippings, compost, rock, compost, or plastic sheets as a soil cover. They can help retain moisture in the soil, protect it from erosion, and control weed and pest infestations.
It’s definitely an easy and inexpensive way to boost your garden’s overall health and productivity!