Growing a vegetable garden requires a lot of attention and extra care since veggies attract bugs and other damaging agents more potentially. It’s not only enough to water your plants on time or fertilize the soil periodically.
Since the thing you are growing in your garden is full of nutrients and foot materials, weeds and microbes get highly attracted to them and ruin the quality and yield of crops.
Another problem is that you cannot use weed killers or pesticides since they, usually, contain heavy metals and toxic chemicals in their composition.
On applying such chemicals to your vegetable plants, you might get rid of weed temporarily but the veggies that will grow would be full of toxins and completely inedible.
Plus, weed killers may also prove to be quite harmful to children and pets and give rise to various skin and respiratory disorders.
The only solution to this unstoppable and undodgeable problem is to get the best mulch for vegetable gardens since they are free of toxic chemicals and designed exclusively to grow healthy and organic veggies.
Besides preventing weeds, a good quality mulch also houses abilities to improve soil fertility and maintain its moisture level and temperature. Moreover, since most of the mulch products are organic, they attract healthy microbes to improve the structure of lower and top layers of soil.
Now the next question is, which brand is manufacturing the top-quality mulch? That’s why we are here! We have used and reviewed eight top-quality mulch for vegetable gardens and enlist their pros and cons so you can be aware of what you are getting, before paying for it! Go through the list and see which mulch would serve the best to its value.
Table of Contents
Best Mulch For Vegetable Garden Comparison Table
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | Rating | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cedar Mulch Granules |
9.5
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Slash Pine Straw Mulch |
8.7
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Envelor Coco Coir Husk Chips |
9.5
|
Check on Amazon |
|
EZ STRAW MULCH |
8.7
|
Check on Amazon |
|
FibreDust CoCo Mulch |
9.5
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Charlie’s Compost |
8.7
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Dirtco. Houseplant Mulch |
9.5
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Rice Hulls |
8.7
|
Check on Amazon |
Eight best mulch for vegetable garden
1. Cedar Mulch Granules
If your veggie beds are under the attacks of fleas, mosquitos, mites, and other harmful insects, cedar mulch could serve you as an all-natural and organic alternative to insect repellent. On opening the bag, all you will see is the real cedar trees granules.
Since cedar is quite aromatic, the intense aroma of this mulch will keep the insects away from your veggies pots for 1-2 months. However, the aroma of cedar granules is not stinky or absurd which means you will not have to walk in your garden while wearing a mask.
Likewise, the pollinators will also float towards your garden due to this fragrance from afar. The color of these cedar granules is also quite sparkling which ended up giving my garden a pleasant look.
Despite coming up with the main objective to repel trouble-causing insects, I found this mulch quite safe and hypoallergenic, equally towards animals, plants, and children. The credit goes to the plant-based and naturally sourced ingredients which are carefully processed and refined afterward.
On watering the mulch, it covers an area of more than three thousand square feet. Last year, my tomato plants had gone completely wasted due to a pest attack. Thanks to the cedar mulch Granules not only keep the crawling pest away from plants but also prevent fungus and blight attacks.
- Enhance the appearance of your garden
- Highest resistance to fleas, insects, and bugs
- Safe and hypoallergenic for children, animals, and plants
- Enhance the rate of pollination
- All-natural and organic ingredients
- Expensive
I have to purchase flea treatments pills or take my pet dog for pest treatment every year which has deprived me of several hundred dollars. But a bag of cedar mulch Granules is enough for a complete season to keep all these problems away.
2. Slash Pine Straw Mulch
Slash pine straw mulch comes up as small needles of reddish-brown color. I appreciate the way manufacturers utilized eco-friendly ingredients in the composition without sacrificing their usefulness. Plus, the box consists of 100% fresh pine straw and I didn’t find any debris or plastic shreds there.
Due to being lightweight, they are easy to spread over a huge yard. The average size of these pine needles offered by Slash is about eight inches which makes them look fluffier and traditional.
Slash pine straw not only serves the environment by being eco-friendly but also reveals so many advantages for your plants. One of these benefits is insulating the plant’s roots to save it from temperature extremes.
One box of these pine straws is enough to cover a landscape of 45 square feet for up to three inches in depth. Since pine straws cover the entire surface thoroughly, it reserves the moisture level by reducing moisture loss and rate of evaporation.
Besides normal weather conditions, this slash pine straw mulch also saves your soil from other problems like soil erosion, soil compaction, and water runoff; problems that often arise due to heavy rain or cyclones.
The thing which I liked most about this mulch is that you don’t need to replace or remove it, for adding a new layer of mulch over the soil. Since it’s biodegradable, it won’t affect soil fertility negatively. Just put a fresher layer of straw over the older ones and impart more nutrients to your plant’s beds.
- Eco-friendly and biodegradable
- Looks natural and fresh
- No need to replace or remove
- Prevent soil damages
- Suitable for all weather conditions
- A bit expensive
- Prone to fly away
If you are having a lot of plants in a limited area, then you should give a chance to slash pine straw as it will not block the air transfusion. As a result of this, the soil will stay spongy and airy which, in turn, enhances the healthy roots and quality yields.
3. Envelor Coco Coir Husk Chips
Envelor coco coir mulch consists of bigger and chunkier chips which are perfect for the plants that don’t grow in regular soil like orchids, anthurium, and other tropical plants. In the composition, orchid barks are also added which swells up to two cubic feet on watering.
You can further mix this mulch with potting soils, peat moss, pine bark, or other composites to make it compatible with your lawns and veggies, and fruit beds.
Since the coconut chunks and husk hold the moisture for longer periods, this mulch is best for tropical plants as it eliminates the frequent watering needs. Resultantly, your plants would be able to survive even during the hottest days without gone wilted or dried out.
Since the mulch is quite bulky, there’s no chance of it flying away in a cyclone. The only thing you need to stay aware of while using this mulch is not to add so much water to the pots. I wanted to test this mulch over my indoor plants but was surprised to see its usefulness even towards outdoor plants.
- Easy to use
- Best to be used in hotter regions
- Don’t get moldy over time
- House excellent moisture retention capabilities
- Suitable for both indoor and outdoor plants
- Expensive
- Not suitable to use in the colder or humid regions
Besides being easy to use and store, this mulch also possesses unlimited strength to avoid mold. If you are living in less humid and hotter areas, where no hack works to avoid sun and heat, then envelor coco coir would serve you the best.
4. EZ STRAW MULCH
In the past, people were more inclined to use organic and all-natural substances to grow healthier plants. As the chemical industry flourished, people started to move towards shortcuts and easy-to-use products like chemical-based fertilizers. Still, there are some people, like me, who prefer 100% organic and natural materials.
While searching for such a natural mulch, I came across EZ straw mulch that claims to possess 99% natural ingredients. On buying and receiving the product, I got organic, biodegradable yet processed straw in an anti-UV bag.
Thus the very first plus point of this product is its packaging which allows the user to store it conveniently. You don’t have to worry about keeping it away from sunlight since UV-protection coating keeps your mulch fresh and new.
Since the straw mulches are extremely light in weight, I was a little concerned about the mulch getting washed out or flew away. But on using it, a breeze of surprise hits me when the straws stay firm to the soil. The reason is obviously the presence of Tackifiers in the formula which acts as a bonding or sticking agent.
Not only the straw but the seedlings also remain firm at their places and straws don’t get displaced even after the germination and sprouting of plants. Since the EZ mulch is biodegradable, as time passes, it degrades and feeds the soil which, in turn, accelerates the process of germination.
By covering the seeds properly beneath it, this straw mulch keeps the seeds count constant and protects them from getting eaten away by insects and animals.
- Safe for pets and children
- Easy to use
- Comes in a UV-protected bag
- Best choice for home gardens
- Maintain the constant seed count
- Accelerate the germination rate
- Expensive
- Bigger straws
EZ straw soil could create a win-win situation for you if you are facing the problems of soil erosion and want to prevent chemical contamination. Also, due to being safer for pets and children, you can use this mulch for growing plants in your home as well.
5. FibreDust CoCo Mulch
If your vegetable garden is present at a hilly or sloped area, this FibreDust CoCo mulch will serve you well since it is made up of crushed coconut husks which can stick to the surface. In other words, it doesn’t matter how harsh the weather conditions or sloped field, this CoCo mulch will not float away.
If you are using bark mulches just because of their lignin contents, you will be surprised to know that the coconut husk houses more concentrated lignin. The lignin content is high enough to deliver incredible benefits to your soil for three to four years.
Another thing that surprised me a lot about this fibreDust mulch is that it gets to swell up to 2-3 cubic feet of watering. It doesn’t only enhance the longevity factor but also makes the soil airer and fluffier.
Plus, I also didn’t observe the insects and bugs in my veg garden which means this mulch also discards the need of using insect repellent. As I hardly get enough time to take care of my veggies or monitor the insect damages, this mulch proved quite helpful to me, in this regard.
- Organic composition
- Delivers long-lasting impacts
- Looks natural and fresh
- Not prone to floating away
- Higher lignin concentrations
- Doesn’t attract insects
- Expensive
- Expands a little on pest ingestion
Besides boosting the nutritional content and improving the quality of yield, CoCo mulch also doesn’t affect pets or children negatively. Thanks to its organic nature though! The rusty color seems quite appealing, fresh, and natural; making this product an ultimate solution for every vegetable harvester.
6. Charlie’s Compost
Charlie’s Compost is all about biodegradable packaging enclosing plenty of nutrients and microbial culture that are capable enough to increase land’s fertility and yield of your vegetable garden.
The main ingredients of this Charlie’s mulch are corn stalks, chicken manure, forest straw products, clay, hay, and healthy microbe cultures. All these ingredients deliver an epitome of benefits to your fruit and veggies beds.
The ingredients which caught my attention first was the chicken manure but on researching and observing its benefits, I came to know that the chicken manure contains heavy concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. That’s the obvious reason why my plants turned greener by adding this compost to my yard. Since chicken manure also houses decomposing bacteria, it helps in breaking down organic material present in the soil which, in turn, cures nutrient deficiencies in plants and soil.
- Mighty and rare ingredients
- House healthy microbes
- Cure nutrient deficiencies
- High yields
- Increase soil’s fertility
- Not suitable for seedlings
- A bit expensive
Lastly, Charlie’s Compost is a powerpack of mighty nutrients. The entire formula is crafted to transform every yard into a greener and fuller vegetable garden.
7. Dirtco. Houseplant Mulch
This bark mulch is most suitable for plants having problems regarding moisture management and watering conditions. Most of the composition consists of bark, so whenever you apply it over the soil, it limits water evaporation.
In this way, the plants growing in tropical or hotter environments don’t get prone to wilting or other problems regarding water deficiency. Due to having incredible water retention abilities, the moisture level remains perfectly balanced and optimum in both indoor and outdoor plants.
Besides keeping the temperature of plants lower on hot days of summer by limiting evaporation, this bark mulch acts as an amazing insulator during the chilly days of winter by completely covering the roots. As a result of this, the plant’s metabolism keeps on proceeding at a regular pace which, in turn, makes your plant grow normally.
The bark is ground to make it extremely refined which makes it easier to apply and mix with the existing dirt. If you are mainly looking for an organic mulch for indoor plants and patio plants, you should consider dirtco house plant mulch at least once.
- All-natural and organic
- Best for moisture retention
- Enhance plant’s growth
- Looks natural
- Repel insects and bugs
- Easy to use
- Deliver long-lasting results
- Small bag
On applying this dirtco house plant Mulch, my soil didn’t get prone to insect attacks. Moreover, it works perfectly fine in all the seasons which makes this mulch an all-seasoned soil solution.
8. Rice Hulls
As the name indicates, this mulch is an alternative to other commercially available synthetic mulches. Rice hulls house high concentrations of silica which act as a strong building material.
After applying this mulch to my vegetable garden, it showed a little movement during the watering but after that, it showed good results regarding covering and keeping the soil fresh and moist.
Likewise, this rice hull mulch is also quite cheaper than the perlite and looks better as well. The natural abilities of rice hulls resist extreme moist penetration which makes it suitable to be used in both colder and hotter regions.
In summer and winter, this rice hull coating insulates the soil from outside heat and chilled winds respectively. As it’s also renewable, you can shift and replace it conveniently. Plus, since the rice hulls decompose slowly, you can use them for longer periods.
I have been using rice hulls as mulch for many years in my home garden and most of the content has not been subjected to break down till now.
The other nutrients present in rice hulls, like crude protein, fat, crude fiber, nitrogen extract, and low digestible ash boost the plants’ health and growth.
- A good alternative to expensive perlite
- Act as a soil insulator
- House multiple nutrients
- Best for greenhouse plants and succulent
- Budget-friendly
- Multi-purpose
- Lightweight
If you are growing vegetables and other plants in a greenhouse, then you can replace expensive perlite material with rice hulls. At the same time, these rice hulls act as the perfect nutritional supplement for succulent plants.
Buying guide
Good quality and highly compatible mulch can prove to be the best friend for your vegetable beds since it treats almost every possible problem on time. However, choosing the best mulch for vegetable gardens is quite a crucial task since it will directly affect your and your family’s health.
The market possesses several types of mulches where each comes with its own set of benefits and meets different sets of needs.
If you want to impart several nutrients to your garden’s soils without compromising on its aesthetic and smell, then you should go with the cocoa mulch. This organic mulch gives off a very pleasant and sweet scent and also looks quite attractive.
On the other hand, if visuals are not your priority and all you want is to increase land’s fertility then you can try animal manure. Animal and chicken manure encloses a huge concentration of nitrogen which boosts soil’s quality and promotes healthy roots.
In addition to these types of mulches, bark mulch is also a good option since it is biodegradable and eliminates the need for replacement or removal. On degrading over time, it adds its nutrients and building contents to the soil to elevate its fertility and nutritional composition. Especially, if you are living in the area, exposed to weather extremes, this mulching material will suit you best.
Besides organic mulch products that we have mentioned above, people also use inorganic or synthetic mulches like fabric, plastic, and rubber.
No doubt that these man-made mulches are more straightforward to bring quicker outcomes and demand lower maintenance needs. However, since they tend to harm the ecosystem, we couldn’t recommend using them.
FAQs?
Conclusion
All the mulches we have mentioned in this article are top-sellers and highly recommended to use in vegetable gardens. However, the top three mulch that wins our hearts by their exceptional properties are
Cedar Mulch Granules due to having intense resistance towards weeds and microbial attacks, safety profile, and aesthetic appearance.
EZ STRAW MULCH due to its UV-protected packaging, 99% organic composition, and exceptional effects over germination rate.
Charlie’s Compost due to having rare and extraordinary ingredients and healthy microbes which shows quicker and unmatched results.
Don’t forget that you cannot choose any random commercially available mulch or use it blindly. To grab the most benefit out of mulching material, you need to pay special attention to the type of plants you are growing and the time of year in which you are using a mulching material.