How to plant seedlings into mulch in a no till garden
No till gardening is a system of gardening where the soil is mulched to prevent soil erosion, conserve water and reduce the pressure of weeds. Planting transplants into mulch is different than in a traditional garden and needs a little bit of prep work first!
Planting into no till gardens.
Once you have converted your garden to a no till system, planting for the first time can be unusual.
The goal is to keep as much of the mulch covering the soil but to not having it touch our garden plants. As the mulch holds moisture on our garden, it can increase the humidity around the tender stems of new plants. For this reason, we want to open the mulch for planting transplants.
If you recall, mulch also prevents germination of seeds including our garden vegetable seeds. We need to open the mulch and leave it open in order for our seeds to germinate. To learn how to plant seeds into a no till garden, please click here.
Planting transplants into no till gardens.
For transplanting seedlings, just make a hole in the mulch to plant into. The mulch remains open and not touching the plant all season as it can increase the humidity around the stem and cause stem rot. There may a few small weeds that grow in this space, but the canopy of the plants will soon choke those out.