Mulching 101: What You Need To Know

While many people appreciate the clean lines and fresh aesthetics that a properly mulched garden bed creates, you might not know there are some big benefits to mulching your garden for the health of your plants, even in the colder months. 

Why Mulch?

There are many benefits to mulching that make it a beneficial practice for every landscaper to follow.

– By providing a buffer between the soil and the sun, mulch helps to regulate the soil temperature, both by keeping plant roots cooler in the heat and insulating them in frosty conditions.

– Mulch also prevents water from evaporating from the soil as quickly, keeping your plants hydrated.

– Young plants need light to fully germinate, so a thick layer of mulch around your established plants can help prevent weeds from growing through.

– As mulch breaks down over time, it adds nutrients to the soil and works to improve the soil structure of your garden bed.

Mulching your garden is a smart way to keep your plants healthy in the long run and ensure that the quality of your soil is constantly improving. With so many benefits, what do you have to lose?

Type of Mulch to Use

There is almost no limit to the types of mulch you can use in your garden. Here are some of our suggestions for experimenting with.

Aged Leaves: Leaves make a cheap, effective garden mulch, though be prepared to replace them more often than wood or bark as outdoor conditions make them harder to stay in place. Simply let a pile of leaves age for at least nine months before scattering the broken down material throughout your garden.

Cedar Mulch: Not only is cedar mulch good for the health of your soil, it also works as a natural repellent for insect pests, meaning your plants will benefit from better soil and fewer bugs. Also giving that fresh smell and clean look to your garden. You can buy cedar chips from most specialty gardening stores.

Seaweed: It may sound too weird to work, but many gardeners find that they have a lot of luck using seaweed in their garden. If you live near the water, you can gather your own and dry it out, or for the less beach-blessed of us, picking some up at a specialty gardening store is an option.

Best Practices for Mulching

To ensure that you have the best success with mulching, a few key steps should be followed.

Mulching can be done at any time of the year. Although it’s best not to mulch when soil temperatures are too cool, as layers of mulch will keep the soil at whatever temperature its applied at, at least for a while.

Before laying down mulch, prep the site by pulling out the weeds. Be sure to pull out all the roots or they will bounce right back and quickly turn your beautiful garden into a weedy mess. Adding a nitrogen rich fertilizer to your bed before laying on the mulch is also a good idea.

Next, simply scatter the mulch throughout the bed several inches thick, being mindful to leave about an inch of space at the base of each plant to prevent it from getting smothered. You can use a garden rake to make sure it is distributed evenly. Depending on the type of mulch you use, it should last between several months to several years before needing to be replaced. As the mulch gradually breaks down into the soil, you can add another layer to keep building it up.

Laying down mulch in your garden is an easy process, but it can have big benefits for the overall health of your soil. By working to suppress weeds and retain moisture, you’ll soon find that adding a layer of mulch to your flower beds makes gardening easier than ever.  

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