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Same soil. Same plants. Same seeds, same day. One bed got three inches of straw mulch in April. The other got nothing. By July, they don't look like the same garden. The bare bed dried out in two days after every watering. Weeds filled the gaps between plants. The soil surface cracked in the heat. The lettuce bolted. The peppers stalled. The mulched bed held moisture for four or five days between waterings. Pull back the straw in July and you'll find earthworms at the surface — in the middle of summer. That tells you what's happening underneath. The soil stays cooler, the roots stay comfortable, and the plants keep producing. 🌱 One input. Four shifts: - Moisture — the mulched bed needs watering roughly half as often - Weeds — straw blocks light from reaching weed seeds. Almost nothing germinates - Temperature — soil under mulch runs noticeably cooler than bare ground next to it - Yield — the plants in mulch outproduce the bare bed by a wide margin from the same starts 🌾 Which mulch to use: - Straw — cheap, available, decomposes slowly. The standard for vegetable beds - Wood chips — longer lasting, better for paths and perennial beds. Keep out of annual rows - Shredded leaves — free every fall. Break down fast and feed the soil. Layer with straw for best results Three inches, pulled back an inch from stems. Add more as it settles through the season. One afternoon. The garden waters itself less and weeds itself less for the rest of summer.