Hot, windy, or steep garden beds! Consider shredded redwood!
The right mulch can make a world of difference!
This SOMA client was fighting to keep their rooftop vegetable garden happy - strong winds kept blowing around the straw mulch they were using (slides 3 and 4), leaving the plants and soil vulnerable to the heat and evaporation caused by direct sunlight.
\We replaced this straw mulch with shredded redwood bark - a sustainable option, produced in abundance as a byproduct of the local timber industry. This type of mulch, often called “gorilla hair,” has long, durable fibers that weave together, holding their shape despite the strong winds that one might find on a rooftop garden.
In addition to this wind resistance, shredded bark performs remarkably well as a thermal insulator: plant roots, and the microbes that live around them in the soil, require consistently cool temperatures, ideally below 65 degrees, in order to grow optimally. This insulation, coupled with improved water retention, makes shredded bark a fantastic option for mulching high wind areas!
