Mulch: Why Every Garden Needs It 🪵

At Green Haven Nursery, we’re all about helping you grow thriving tropical and subtropical gardens — and one of our biggest secrets to success is mulch.

Mulch does far more than make your garden look neat. It protects your soil, feeds your plants, and helps create a living ecosystem.

Natural Walkways & Better Water Flow:

If you live in a place with heavy clay soil, I am sure you know the pain of waterlogging, even with a mild rain. Mulch helps manage water — stopping puddles from forming and allowing moisture to soak in slowly instead of running off. During hot weather, it shields the soil from sun exposure, preventing it from cracking / drying out.

Mulch Breaks Down into Compost:

Mulch slowly decomposes, adding organic matter back into your soil. You can see an example of this breakdown from my own food-forest above, notice the changes in texture and colour as the woodchips age? As well as the appearance of mycelium through the woodchips. Eventually, the woodchips form a rich black humus that is ideal for growing fruit trees within, essentially a slow-release compost system built right into your garden. 

Restores the Soil Ecosystem:

Healthy soil is alive and dynamic, fungi, bacteria, and microorganisms all work together beneath the surface to achieve this. Mulch helps restore this ecosystem, keeping the soil moist and shaded and temperature regulated to provide an ideal habitat for beneficial microbes.

You might even notice white fungal threads (called mycelium) spreading through your mulch. This is not any type of plant disease, it's a good sign! These fungi break down organic matter and help your plants access nutrients more efficiently — a key part of thriving tropical fruit gardens.

You Can Grow Food From It 🍄

Mulch can literally grow food — no joke!

The winecap mushroom (Stropharia rugosoannulata) loves to grow in woodchip mulch, often popping up in shaded garden paths or undisturbed areas if you inoculate your pile. Not only is it edible, but mycelium colonization speeds up the decomposition process, feeding your soil further. It is, however, important to be able to confidently ID any mushroom you decide to eat. 

Here is an example of an almost comical sized mushroom (almost 300 grams!) that appeared from our food forest yesterday, 

Minor Drawbacks to Keep in Mind:

Of course, mulch isn’t without a few downsides:

It can be a little uneven/difficult to walk on, especially when freshly laid.

Once down, it’s hard to remove with a shade/mulch fork. 

Amending the soil underneath a mulched site can be difficult, as this requires drawing back (sometimes significant qualities of) mulch.

Remember to always lay mulch on top of the soil, not mixed in — fresh mulch will temporarily rob nitrogen as it breaks down if amended into the soil.

The Cost & Sourcing:

If you’ve ever checked out woodchips at big-box stores, you’ll know they can be surprisingly expensive for the small bags and limited amount they sell. A far better option is to get a local arborist to drop off a fresh load of woodchip mulch right at your doorstep — often for free/ small delivery fee.

However, these loads are often huge — often 5 cubic metres or more as you can see below — which can be overwhelming to move, especially without a wheelbarrow or help (solo - a weekend job at minimum).

Fresh woodchip mulch can also have a strong, earthy smell for the first week or so, especially if it’s from green/freshly shredded material or particular tree varieties. When spreading mulch, wear a safety mask to avoid breathing in wood dust or fungal spores.

Final Thoughts:

For tropical and subtropical gardens in New Zealand, mulch is a game changer. It reduces maintenance, keeps soil healthy, and supports a living ecosystem that feeds your plants naturally as time passes by.

Here at Green Haven Nursery, we’ve seen firsthand how much better trees perform with a good layer of mulch. Whether you’re growing bananas, papayas, or citrus, your soil (and your harvest) will thank you. Hopefully we have convinced you of the benefits and drawbacks of woodchip mulch, check again tomorrow for another post on Spring Changes you can make to increase the productivity of your garden. 

Bharat from GreenHaven