Things You'll Need:
- good quality mulch, try dyed brown.
- wheel barrow
- pitch fork or snow shovel
- leaf rake
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Step 1
Spreading mulch around your landscape is the final step in installing any new planting or finishing your spring cleanup. When completed properly, this will enhance the health of your plantings, increase the appeal of your property and guarantee a beautiful landscape that you can enjoy for at least a month until your have to pull another weed.
Do this before you mulch
1. Remove any winter debris, leaves sticks or rocks
2. Prune tops and remove any dead branches from shrubs
3. Fertilize trees, shrubs, perennials with a slow release fertilizer
4. Pull or spray all existing weeds. Use round up herbicide.
5. Make bed edges neat, straight lines straight, curves long and slow
6. Cut back all perennials
7. Cut back ornamental grass, cutting no lower than 6" from ground
8. Have large evergreens trees growing together, combine into one bed 9. Shrubs or hegdes mulched individually, combine into one bed -
Step 2
Figure out mulch quantities
Length of beds X width of beds X depth of mulch-->divided by 27
200 X 10 = 2000 square feet
2” deep, proper depth for new planting 2 divided by 12 = .17
2000 X .17 = 340
340/27=12.59 or 13 yards of mulch at 2” deep for 2000 sq. ft
Wants bags instead?
*** 1 yard of mulch equals 9 bags (3 cubic feet per each bag)
Bulk or Bagged?
Need a large quantity, buy bulk and have it delivered. It's cheaper and easier to use. Mulch in bags is sometimes wet, heavy and difficult to maneuver around the garden.
Dyed Mulch or Hardwood
Try dyed brown, it has a deep, rich color that holds for entire season, fading very little. If you buy dyed mulch in bulk, be careful, the dye will stain concrete. Rain will wash dye off. Once applied to your beds, it dries in 24 hrs and looks great.
Dyed mulch has no negative affects on plants or soil and does not promote TERMITES -
Step 3
How deep do I want the mulch?
Spread 1" of new mulch on top of existing mulch to a total depth of 2"
Spread 2" of new mulch to cover soil after a new installation .
Deeper than 2” of mulch existing in your beds, remove before reapplying.
Do I mulch to the trunks of plants?
Do not to pile mulch up against trunks of trees or shrubs. Over time, may cause insect damage. Bring the mulch right up to the trunk but do not pile over 1 ".
Volcanoes are cool but not on trees
Do not pile up mulch or soil on top of tree roots. Over time, this will eventually inhibit water getting thru to the existing root system below ground.
This causes the tree to grow new roots up into the mulch layer, out of the soil. When it gets hot, the mulch dries, roots will die and the tree stresses. *** Mulch around trees should be almost level with the surrounding ground.
When you’re finished, rake around bed edges to fluff up grass and give a nice finished look.
All the best,
Todd
Contact me at tpwessel@comcast.net for more free advice and tips
