The virtues of mulching

Not into heavy pesticides and chemicals to get your garden in tip top shape? Me neither. In this article I'd like to discuss why mulching and natural fertilizing are the way to go. With the advent of the health craze came terms like 'organic' 'all natural' and 'free range', and for good reason. More and more people are developing serious health problems that may or may not be related to diet/living conditions. Did you know that industrialized nations lead the world in insidious diseases like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, gastric problems of varying degrees? There is a theory that due to the reduction of family farms, and all the germs that go with it, came an increase in such diseases. There's even mention of pig whipworms as a preventative to bowel problems. Crazy, I know, but it may hold some merrit.
With that in mind, I think that it's probably a good thing to 'go natural' and to get back to the basics. Now, before you go out and buy the blue stuff to fertilize your gardens with, realize that these water soluble nitrogens, while good in themselves, contribute to actual pollution in that they contribute too much fuel to the ground. Run off after rains is a leading cause of over nitrogenation. Mulching solves this problem by introducing nitrogen in a solid form rather than liquid, and it introduces it at a steady, even rate as compared to liquid that gets dumped all at once, and then leaches out during rains before the plants can really benefit. Sure, it takes a bit longer, but it also provides the needed cooling to the soil that your plants need, keeps erosion from happening so quickly, and benefits all the way around. Tumbled compost is a good mulch, but the problem is that weeds love compost. Next in line is bark or wood-shavings. They take longer to break down, but will leave your garden with a rich topsoil. Steer clear of hardwood chips though as it will actually compete with your plants for fuel as it breaks down. Bark mulch is better, but softwoods like pine and spruce break down more easily and add nitrogen instead of taking it from the soil.
Steer well clear of so called 'cedar mulch'. First off, it isn't cedar, second, it is what is called heartwood that will compete for nitrogen as it breaks down, and third, it contains dye which I'm guessing you'd rather not consume.
You will see some mulch advertised as being 'anti-fungal'. Not a good thing. Your soil needs certain fungus' in order to thrive, and these mulches tend to kill off all fungus' indiscriminately. Snub your noses at rubber, rock or even plastic mulches for obvious reasons.
Mulching is tedious work, but the benefits will outweigh the negatives in the long run, and your garden will thank you by producing healthier plants.