Re: [IBC] Why Mulch ??

Nina Shishkoff wrote:

> However, the
> > "mulching" process still confuses me.
>
> Mulch doesn't stop the ground from freezing; it prevents the ground from *thawing*.  
> The greatest stress on both trees and pots is irregular weather when the ground 
> continually freezes and thaws.  Mulch acts as a buffer.  Snow will do the same 
> thing, if you are lucky enough (nyah nyah Jim) to live where you get a continuous 
> blanket of snow.  Both mulch and snow will buffer the ground from going too much 
> BELOW freezing, because a sudden severe cold snap can kill inadequately protected 
> roots.
>
> <snip>

Nina has it exactly right.  Mulching evens out the highs and lows of temperatures.  It 
can sometimes get warm on a sunny winter day, and a tree in a pot exposed to the 
elements could begin to thaw out.

Snow is another benefit of winter.  It does the same thing as mulch, by insulating the 
ground and whatever is in it, and helping to moderate the highs and lows.  When I 
lived in Maine, we would sometimes have what the old-timers called an "open winter," 
with no snow.  Let me tell you, the ground would freeze far deeper than it did if 
there were snow on the ground, sometimes as deep as three feet.  That's a lot of 
frost.  If it were to snow, especially if the snow had fallen early enough, like
November, the ground would be more insulated because it had not had a chance to freeze 
very deeply.  During an open winter people would have problems with their wells, pipes 
would freeze, in the late winter the ground would heave from the excessive frost in 
the ground, and we'd have a mud season that was legendary.

Snow also protects evergreens from windburn.  It's a great thing.  I leave my trees 
open to the elements so snow will build up around them.   They are in the front of the 
house, between a retaining wall and the foundation so there's protection from wind.  
The snow slides off the roof and fills the area up, and when I'm shoveling the sidwalk 
I shovel the snow right in.  I like to keep the trees completely buried in snow if at 
all possible.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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