Mulch vs Compost: What's the Difference and Which Is Better?

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Do you love to garden? If so, you’re in good company!

After all, cultivating a home garden is one of the best ways to ensure that your family gets to enjoy the benefits of fresh vegetables. It’s no secret that fresh veggies are healthy and delicious, but it’s important to know how to keep your garden soil in top shape. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place for the best advice.

This article takes a look at using mulch vs compost in your garden. Keep reading to get the inside scoop on the benefits of mulch vs compost so that you can take the quality of your gardening to the next level.

What is Mulch?

First, let’s talk about mulch for a moment. What exactly is it?

This is a term that’s generally used to refer to a combination of both organic and inorganic materials. These materials are commonly used as a top dressing for improving the soil.

Mulch is typically made up of lawn clippings, leaves, straw, gravel, shredded wood, and crushed nut shells, as well as a variety of similar products.

Adding this top dressing to your garden will help provide specific benefits such as improving soil structure and increasing the nutrient levels in the soil.

What is Compost?

Now that we’ve looked at mulch, let’s take a moment to define compost.

This is an organic soil amendment that can be purchased at a local gardening center or cultivated in a container in your backyard. This material looks and feels like soil and is made up of a wide variety of contents including manure, kitchen scraps, leaves, banana peels, and coffee grounds, etc. These materials are piled together, allowing them to be decomposed by microorganisms.

Compost helps improve the quality of your soil by pumping it full of nutrients. It’s also commonly referred to as fertilizer and can make a huge difference in the health and beauty of your garden.

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How Are They Different?

So now let’s discuss the major differences between the two. Here are the basics:

Mulch can be a combination of organic and inorganic materials and is typically used to limit weed growth, retain soil moisture, and reduce soil erosion.

Compost is decomposed organic materials that are mixed into the soil and helps to improve soil structure and add nutrients.

The Pros and Cons

Both are great for improving the quality of your soil. Just keep in mind that they typically serve different purposes. Compost is used to improve the quality of the soil, whereas mulch is generally used to protect the soil. Thus the best strategy is to use a combination of both.