Uses and Benefits of Mint Hay Compost to Know
While it is one of the most beneficial garden amendments you can use for your soil, mint hay compost is not familiar to most people. This material holds many benefits and should have a place in your garden. This article will introduce you to a few of the main benefits and uses of mint hay compost.
There are so many different types of mulch and soil amendments that you have likely heard of some obscure materials that people add to their gardens. Among these many materials, one of the strangest sounding ones is mind hay compost. However, while that name may be unfamiliar for some, mint hay compost has many uses and benefits in nearly any garden. This article will introduce you to a few of the most notable advantages of using mint hay compost.
Improved Moisture Retention
Soil moisture is one of the most important matters you must address before planting any plant. As you probably know, each plant species comes with a specific set of growth requirements. Within those requirements, a certain level of soil moisture is one of the most vital factors. Achieving the ideal soil moisture often requires some sort of soil amendment. If you are hoping to make your soil better at retaining moisture after watering, mint hay compost is a great option for you. Add some to your garden beds, and you will no longer need to worry about your soils drying out.
Additional Organic Matter
Most plants will grow best in soil that has plenty of organic matter. This matter enriches the soil and provides copious amounts of nutrients to support plant growth. As such, it is important for you to make sure that your garden soil has plenty of organic material if you want to see the best results from your plants. Adding mint hay compost as a soil amendment is a great way to do that. Mint hay compost contains countless micronutrients that your plants will appreciate.
Amendments for Clay and Sandy Soil
One of the greatest challenges for many gardeners is dealing with poor soil quality. For those who attempt to plant on properties with clay or sandy soils, this issue is especially prevalent. Thankfully, mint hay compost can help in either scenario. When you add this material to sandy soil, it will improve moisture retention and add some much-needed nutrients to the soil. Interestingly, it can have the opposite effect on clay soils by improving the soil drainage characteristics. That means that mint hay compost is a soil amendment you can rely on in many situations.
Weed Suppression
Mint hay compost can act as a soil amendment or as a form of mulch. In the latter case, the mint hay compost will act as any other type of mulch would. This includes the suppression of weeds in your garden beds. After adding a few inches of mind hay compost to your garden, you can expect to spend less time on your hands and knees pulling out unwanted plants. However, you should know that mint hay compost can break down quickly, which means it can only ward off weeds for so long.
Pest Prevention
Unlike other types of compost, mint hay compost has a strong scent. That scent can go a long way in discouraging pests from entering your garden and afflicting your plants. Many plants can fall victim to rodents and insects. So, the presence of mint hay mulch may be what you need to aid your plant in fending off an infestation.
No Bacteria or Fungus
Any time you add a material to your garden, you run the risk of introducing some harmful substances as well. Even a beneficial material such as mulch could be hiding fungus, bacteria, or seeds that will later develop into weeds. However, that is not the case for mint hay compost. The process that leads to the creation of mint hay compost also causes it to be completely clean by the time your get to use it.
A Sustainable Approach
This final benefit may be the most impactful of them all. Using mint hay compost is an environmentally friendly practice. Much of this relates to the way in which mind hay compost comes into being. Mint hay compost is a by-product of the spearmint and peppermint oil manufacturing process. During that process, those essential oils companies use steam to extract oil from the mint plant. Once they have that oil, they do not need the rest of the plant.
The companies can throw out that plant material, or it allow it to become mint hay compost. Continuing to buy mint hay compost creates a demand for the product and therefore reduces the waste that would normally accumulate through the essential oil-making process. In other words, by using mint hay compost, you are not just doing the best for the plants in your garden. You are also contributing to the health of the earth.
