mulsh

from The Century Dictionary.

• To cover with mulsh. Also written mulch.
• Soft; mellow: said of soil.
• noun In gardening, strawy dung, or any other material, as, leaves, loose earth, or hay, spread on the surface of the ground to protect the roots of newly planted shrubs or trees, of tender plants, etc.
• noun A mulsh may also be of use in preventing the evaporation of soil-moisture and the baking or cementing of the soil, and in preventing the washing of the soil as well as too deep freezing. The upper part of the soil itself may be employed as a mulsh to the soil beneath, by being kept loose and dry by means of tillage: this, in fact, is one of the chief objects of tillage. The frequently stirred top soil is often spoken of as the earth-mulsh or soil-mulsh. Sometimes the crops themselves are utilized as mulshes by being cut and allowed to lie on the land, as, for example, with grass or rye in orchards. The cover crop is sometimes considered as a mulsh even when it is still alive and growing. See cover crop.