Decorative Stone Mulch - Look Nice But Have No Soil Benefit
by John Yazo
Stone / Rock mulches, also called decorative stone leaves a neat clean appearance if installed properly. They should be dug into the ground between three and four inches deep and edging installed to hold the stone / rock into place. Installing a weed barrier under the stone / rock will control the weeds.
There are a couple of factors on why decorative stone mulches don't benefit an organic garden. Stone used for mulch doesn't decompose or add any nutritional value to the soil as you would have with an organic mulch. Without the organic matter there is no environment that would attract living organisums needed in the soil to benefit the soil structure and add the nutrients needed naturally for plants to thrive. The installation of a weed barrier under a decorative stone mulch limits the amount of water that can get to the root system of a plant.These fabric are made for water to penetrate but before a majority of the water can penetrate through most of it has run off the sides. When watering plants that have a weed barrier installed around them the barrier needs to be pulled back to supply the plant with the water they need and to allow for the application of any nutrients that are needed to feed the plants.
Decorative stone comes in many colors, shapes and sizes. It can be bought in bulk or bagged quantities from your local garden center.
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