Mulch may consist of straw, leaves, compost, bark, or other organic and manufactured materials laid around crops. It protects the soil surface, conserves water, moderates temperature, and gradually enriches the earth as organic matter decays. In poetry, mulch is less traditional than seed or harvest, but it offers a potent image of concealment, protection, and transformation. Dead material becomes nourishment for new life, making mulch a metaphor for memory, grief, decay, and the hidden processes by which renewal is made possible.

Mulch is spread on the soil surface rather than dug deeply into it. Organic materials such as straw, leaves, bark, or compost conserve moisture, suppress weeds, regulate temperature, and gradually enrich the ground. In poetry, mulch can suggest protection, concealment, and dead matter nourishing new life. It is more common in modern environmental writing than traditional pastoral verse. Related terms include compost, straw, leaf mould, soil, moisture, weed control, decay, and fertility.