mulchn.
/mʌl(t)ʃ/, U.S. /məltʃ/ 1. Partly rotted plant material, etc.; (Horticulture) loose material consisting of straw, decaying leaves, shredded cuttings and bark, etc., spread on soil or around or over a plant to provide insulation, protect from desiccation, and deter weeds. Also: textile or other artificial material used for the same purpose.
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the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > protective coverings for plants
pease-haulm1432
mulch1657
mattress1658
litter1666
weather-basket1699
Archangel mat1854
mulching1855
1657 S. Purchas Theatre Flying-insects ix. 114 Then make a smoak of mulch and wet straw.
1691 J. Ray S. & E. Country Words in Coll. Eng. Words (ed. 2) 107 Mulch; straw half rotten.
1706 G. London & H. Wise Retir'd Gard'ner I. ii. ii. 110 We put in a little short Mulsh upon the Root.
1778 Farmer's Mag. Nov. 360 If the seeds vegetate late in the season, they ought to be covered with mulch or moss.
1860 New Englander (New Haven, Connecticut) Nov. a896 The strawy sweepings of a town stable,..if applied as a top-dressing, owes [sic] half its efficiency to the kindly mulch it offers to the delicate grass-roots.
1891 T. Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles I. xvii. 222 His boots were clogged with the mulch of the yard.
1959 Home Encycl. 66 This mixture, when black and well rotted can be forked out, mixed with animal manure (humus) and spread over the plot at any time or used as mulch.
1987 K. Rushforth Tree Planting & Managem. (1990) iv. 85 There are essentially two types of mulch; organic materials such as peat or bark, and inorganic ones like polythene sheeting or gravel.
2000 Ideal Home Nov. 163/1 Rake over the bare soil and cover it with a layer of protecting and enriching mulch such as well-rotted manure, cocoa-shells or garden compost.
2. A particular variety or mixture of such material; an application of such material.
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1882 Amer. Naturalist 16 357 The bird deliberately made a hole, thrust in the acorn, covered it and then put a chip on the spot, perhaps the latter as a mulch.
1912 Cuba Mag. Mar. 408 For the preservation of moisture nothing can beat a good grass mulch.
1955 Times 21 May 10/6 Bracken, which may often be obtained free for the gathering, is admirable as a mulch, having all the good qualities of moss-peat plus a high nutrition value.
1987 K. Rushforth Tree Planting & Managem. (1990) iv. 86 Inorganic mulches include polythene sheeting, bituminous roofing felt and gravel.
1998 A. Sturgeon Planted 185/2 To avoid watering, fork lots of organic matter into the soil, and use mulches and water-absorbing polymer granules.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
mulchadj.
/mʌlʃ/, U.S. /məlʃ/ rare.† 1. Of soil: soft, moist. Obsolete.
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the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > [adjective]
lithec888
merroweOE
neshOE
tender?c1225
softa1250
unharda1300
supplec1325
melchc1350
unsad1398
slobbery?a1425
lushc1440
mulch?1440
gentle1555
mellow1577
softly1589
tenerous1598
siddow1601
maumy1728
frush1848
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) ii. 120-1 (MED) Thy vynys soil be not to molsh [L. solutum] or hard, But sumdel molsh.
2. English regional (Cheshire). Of the weather: damp and mild.
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1877 E. Leigh Gloss. Words Dial. Cheshire Mulsh, soft, damp, drizzling weather.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
mulchv.
/mʌl(t)ʃ/, U.S. /məltʃ/ transitive. To treat or cover (ground, a plant, etc.) with mulch. Occasionally intransitive.
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the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > management of plants > [verb (transitive)] > mulch
mulch1715
1715 S. Switzer Nobleman, Gentleman, & Gardener's Recreation vii. 162 You may mulsh or lay some Straw over the Roots.
1802 W. Forsyth Treat. Fruit-trees iii. 38 Mulch the border..with some very rotten dung or leaves.
1855 De Bow's Rev. Feb. 206 Until the trees grow large enough to shade their own roots..keep them well mulched with straw and leaves.
1884 Australasian 8 Nov. 875/1 The entire surface [was] mulched with straw.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 130/3 When the soil has settled in the pots, I mulch with a half-inch of leafmold to prevent the drying and exposure of roots which are near the surface.
1971 Last Whole Earth Catal. (Portola Inst.) 51/3 I haven't lost a birch tree since I started to mulch them with manure.
1991 Garden (Royal Hort. Soc.) Apr. 213/1 I next want to try shredding and composting conifer hedge clippings in the hope that they will be sufficiently acidic for mulching rhododendrons.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1657
adj.?1440
v.1715