Mulching is an important part of gardening that sometimes gets overlooked. Mulch helps keep roots cool and moist in the summer and warm and insulated in the winter. It also suppresses weeds and gives your garden bed an attractive, textured look. Organic mulches, like wood chips and pine needles, are always a good choice, but crushed stone is swiftly gaining in popularity. Keep reading to learn more about using white marble chips for landscaping.
What is White Marble Mulch?
What is white marble mulch? Put simply, it’s white marble that has been crushed to the consistency of gravel and spread in a layer around plants just like other mulch. Using marble chips as mulch has a few strong advantages over using organic mulch. For one thing, marble chips are heavy and won’t blow away like many other mulches, making them ideal for areas that are prone to high winds. For another, marble doesn’t biodegrade, meaning it doesn’t have to be replaced from year to year the way organic mulch does. There are, however, some drawbacks to using white marble mulch. While it does protect roots, it tends to heat them up more than organic mulch and should only be used with plants that don’t mind some heat. White marble chips are also very high in pH and will leach into the soil over time, making it more alkaline. Don’t use marble chips as mulch around plants that prefer acidic soil. White marble chip mulch can be laid directly on the soil, but it’s much easier to manage if a sheet of gardening fabric is put down first.