Nature rarely leaves healthy soil exposed for long. Forests cover themselves with leaves, bark, branches and dead vegetation. We seek to imitate this process.
Woodchip is particularly useful around trees and perennial systems. Straw can provide excellent vegetable-bed cover. Leaves are nature's own mulch. Eucalyptus is an abundant resource on our land — rather than treating every branch as waste, we intend to shred substantial quantities for mulch and compost production.
Monchique requires an important qualification. Organic mulch can benefit soil enormously while dry organic material can also burn. We therefore avoid treating mulch as universally beneficial regardless of location. Around buildings, infrastructure and vulnerable tree trunks, depth, moisture, material and distance all matter. Soil regeneration and fire safety must be designed together.