does mulch reduce nutrition

I thaught mulch makes nutes for plants cover leaves stalks etc

Then on the plant shop i see this? Is that saying my mulch is strippin nutes?is it market gimmics or whats goin on

Strulch - Mineralised Straw Mulch, an environmentally friendly alternative to peat in compost and a more efficient way of using wheat straw as mulch. Lasting weed control tried and tested at the University of Leeds Experimental Gardens, The Earth Centre, The Eden Project and RHS Harlow Carr Gardens. Due to Strulch being made from wheat straw it makes a light and easy to use organic garden mulch. Strulch has a neutral pH and can be used on borders, raised beds, around vegetable and fruit plots. the straw can be left on the surface giving an earthy brown colour the first year then dug in and replenished in the second year. Available: 100 litres x 2, 12, 24 or 48 bags.


Wet straw tends to rot down before the end of the growing season, taking nutrients from the soil. If rotting occurs when the plants are young, it can result in severe nitrogen immobilisation, causing reduced growth. Geoff Whitley in the School of Biology, Leeds, has developed a new technique to address this problem using naturally occurring soil minerals to stabilise and condition the milled straw. As a visually appealing mulch, it will last up to 2 years. Each bag will cover up to 3 sq.m. applied in a 4-5cm thick layer and can be incorporated into compost or soil to improve soil structure.


A patented process is used to 'preserve' the straw so that it lasts for up to two years and gives an earthy brown colour. Strulch is manufactured in Britain, entirely from locally sourced quality wheat straw with added iron minerals. The patented process stabilises and colours the straw producing an easy-to-use garden mulch.


The physical properties of Strulch mulch together with the embedded minerals to deters slugs and snails. We recommend wearing gloves when handling as the packed product may contain traces of iron which will be absorbed by the straw after spreading.

This doesn’t seem too out there but also unnecessary I would think especially for a personal grow. The part about immobilizing N didn’t make a ton of sense to me though. I used regular straw last year along with clover

ApoPNW said:

This doesn’t seem too out there but also unnecessary I would think especially for a personal grow. The part about immobilizing N didn’t make a ton of sense to me though. I used regular straw last year along with clover

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Yeah its strabge thats why i asked im guessing marketing gimmic to sell their straw ?

2cent said:

Is that saying my mulch is strippin nutes?is it market gimmics or whats goin on

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Straw is mostly carbon. If you mixed a lot of it with your soil, soil bacteria will grab any available nitrogen it can in order to eat that carbon. This will quickly lower the amount of available N in your soil available to plants. The N isn't lost. It's still there, but forms part of the bodies of bacteria and other organisms in a form unavailable to plants but gets available again later as they poop, die, get eaten by protozoa, etc. Shortages caused this way are temporary.

Using it as a mulch though does not have this effect so much because only some of the straw is in contact with the top of soil, and so the bacteria have a hard time finding the N to eat it. Bacteria will eat the straw, but more slowly so that N is released from bacteria at around the same speed they utilize it to eat more mulch keeping things sort of stable. Unless you add a high nitrogen source mixed with the straw, straw typically takes quite awhile to break down.

Northwood said:

Straw is mostly carbon. If you mixed a lot of it with your soil, soil bacteria will grab any available nitrogen it can in order to eat that carbon. This will quickly lower the amount of available N in your soil available to plants. The N isn't lost. It's still there, but forms part of the bodies of bacteria and other organisms in a form unavailable to plants but gets available again later as they poop, die, get eaten by protozoa, etc. Shortages caused this way are temporary.

Using it as a mulch though does not have this effect so much because only some of the straw is in contact with the top of soil, and so the bacteria have a hard time finding the N to eat it. Bacteria will eat the straw, but more slowly so that N is released from bacteria at around the same speed they utilize it to eat more mulch keeping things sort of stable. Unless you add a high nitrogen source mixed with the straw, straw typically takes quite awhile to break down.

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Thats some great info and makes sense