I left nettle (Urtica dioica) grow in a corner of my yard. I already made lots of natural liquid fertilizer out of it, but I have too many nettles left.
Can I use them for mulching? I want to get some hot summer days protection around some plants by mulching.
You can use many different types of materials for mulching, as long as you go into the project knowing the characteristics of the material used. Nettles have a curious property that they contain a fibre that can be used for spinning yarn. This means the nettles will rot down a little, losing the bast material but probably leaving a lot of fibres on the ground which might not rot away as quickly as you expect. Flax is quite notorious for this; debris left behind is often burned rather than composted since the fibres are so resistant to rotting and can seriously bind up machinery. So in short, you can expect a mulching effect, but be prepared to have to deal with the mulch on an ongoing basis.
I could see it for example between rows where you want to be able to walk frequently; the continuous springiness of the nettle straw would resist some compaction of the soil.
yes you can use nettle for Mulching
mulching means it is a process of covering the soil and make more favorable conditions for plant growth, development.
here you can use paddy straw, bark, dry grasses, wood chips, dry leaves, pine needles, sawdust, grass clipping, also a plastic mulching film
read more about mulching
