We had some Big Excitement in our driveway on Saturday morning!
Yes! It was Mulch Delivery Day!
You may remember that last year . . . I thought maybe I could get away without mulching. Ha! That was a laugh. I regretted not mulching pretty much every single day.
It was a good reminder for me: Mulch. Every. Year.
That pile? It’s about half gone at this point. Tom makes quick work of it! (And I am so grateful.) Tom says he likes mulching . . . because it “smells like spring!”
Why do I mulch my garden beds? Three reasons:
- Mulch helps develop and improve my garden soil. (But only the right kind of mulch. See tips below.)
- It slows the loss of moisture in my beds. (Allegedly, I don’t have to water as often.)
- It suppresses weeds. (Sadly, it does not prevent them altogether.) (Sigh.)
It might be mulch season for you, too, so I thought I would share some Mulch Tips for the Average Gardener (as opposed to being for the gardeners who really geek out about things like mulch).
- The type of mulch you use absolutely MATTERS. The best mulch for flower/perennial beds = material that used to be plant matter, AGED and already broken down, in a fine-to-medium shred. (I use aged bark fines.) (Straw is great mulch for vegetable gardens – not hay, though – because too many seeds.) (Big wood chips? Not good mulch anywhere — although they’re fine to line a path.)
- It’s preferable to buy mulch in bulk from a local source. (Bagged mulch is always a bit iffy, because you don’t really know where it’s coming from or how it’s been processed.) (It’s generally cheaper to buy it in bulk, too.)
- Mulch in flower beds should look like soil, color-wise. (Say no to dyed mulch; whatever it’s dyed with . . . will work its way into your garden bed. And you don’t want that.)
- The best time to mulch is in the spring — as you’re planting.
- Mulch should be 1 – 3″ deep. (Deeper isn’t better.)
- Your mulch should break down over the season — which is why you need to do it every year. (That’s what you want it to do — break down and enhance the soil.)
- Avoid letting mulch touch the stems of your plants (as much as possible), and always, always avoid Volcano Mulching around tree trunks!!!! (Seriously, Volcano Mulching is the worst thing you can do to your trees. Keep that mulch away from the trunks.)
- If you hire someone to do your mulch, watch them carefully. Not everyone knows what they’re doing with mulch. (I’ve seen many “mulch professionals” create those volcanoes . . .)
And there you go! Let the mulching begin!
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Let me know if you have any questions about mulching. I’ll try to answer your questions — or direct you to a resource. (I DO happen to be one of those gardeners who geeks out about things like mulch.)
Our across-the-street neighbor was an avid gardener and when a sizeable delivery of mulch was first deposited on her front lawn one year we were a bit mystified until she clued us in. Somewhat skeptical in the ways of mulch, we were fascinated to see how fast that mountain disappeared. Thanks for the memory, Kym. Chloe
We need a load of mulch for sure this spring… it is on the list. These tips though… awesome! I think we have always gotten good mulch, but now I am going to make sure we get good mulch! (and no mulching up tree trunks!) XO
My back hurts just looking at that big pile of mulch, a wheelbarrow, and Tom shoveling! But I bet the pile will soon be completely spread, with no volcanoes in your yard! (Why do they do that?)
Your mulch looks beautiful! Just the right color and perfect for a garden. We buy a large pile of mulch for the gardens and also get woodchips for the paths as often as we can (free as tree guys can’t always get rid of what they have). Mulch is a must and your will make your garden look great, too!
We don’t mulch per se…but Fletch uses grass elippings in our (veggie) gardens…dry leaves cover the beds come fall and we use woodchips in the paths. Our neighbors ofter volcano mulch which is not only bad for the trees, but is pretty ugly too!
Pine straw is the mulch of choice in the deep south. Anything else just seems to look, well, wrong. and it works great. Decomposes nicely and adds acid to the soil. And it is a low-impact product. Farmers and harvesters/wholesalers just get contracts to rake it up each year from under the pine stands. Some people even grow their own!
I mulched last fall and thought oh what an easy spring with less weeds. Umm, not so much. I have dandelions and grass popping up all over. I knew I would but I was living in gardening fantasy land! 😉
Volcano mulching! Who knew?
Thank you so *mulch* for the information on mulch.
Dee’s comment 🙂 In our neighborhood, undyed mulch is required in all our front beds EVERY spring. Marc loves to put it down, so I let him. We get pinestraw on the side and back beds twice a year (and we hire that out – putting down pinestraw is hard labor). Lucy loves the mulch and the pinestraw … I’m sure the smells are doggie nirvana. and it does look nice.
I love my husband and he’s good at many things . . . but not edging garden beds and spreading mulch. The only good thing that came out of his accident 3 years ago was that I was finally able to hire someone to do yard work and they do a great job with spring clean up, edging, and mulching. I have instructed them not to volcano the tree out front and they still do, so I go out there and fix it myself!
You’re lucky to have someone who enjoys the smell — it makes me feel ill (probably because the first sign I was pregnant with my daughter was feeling nauseated after smelling some fresh mulch). I have never taken advantage of it, but our city offers free mulch every year that they make from shredding up Christmas trees, which I just love!
Just took a walk. As I often have observed city trees lining the roadways seem always to have what I have just learned is “volcano” mulching. Is it, really? or something else. Or are they just wrong??
Thank you for the mulching information. I like grass clippings in the vegetable and herb garden.