How to Mulch Your Landscape

Each spring piles of smelly, smoldering mulch appear in every neighborhood. How much do you need? What type is best for your landscape and garden? When and how should you apply? Whether you mulch yourself, or have landscapers mulch for you, it's important to know the answers to these questions.

Things You'll Need

• gloves, long pants, clothes you don't mind getting dirty
• pitchfork, rake, shovel
• wheelbarrow or garden wagon
• tape measure & calculator

Instructions

1. Choose the right time of year to mulch.
   Mulch not only looks nice in our gardens and landscapes, it also helps control weeds and conserves water. When organic mulch is used, it will enrich the soil as well.

   When mulching in the spring, make sure to wait until the ground has warmed. If you mulch too early in the spring your perennials will break their winter dormancy too early. This could cause them to grow less, flower less, and maybe even die. So we want the ground to stay cold until it really is springtime. When your plants are perky and green, then that's the time to mulch.

   To protect plants from cold harsh winters, mulch in the late fall, when the ground is nice and cold and your plants' roots have begun their dormancy period.

   Water evaporates more slowly from soil that is protected from the wind and sun by mulch. So If you mulch, you don't have to water as much, saving time, money, and a precious resource. Ah - it's good to be green. However, if your area ever experiences heavy rains watch your landscape for any soggy, puddled spots. If they don't disappear in a day or too, rake off some of the mulch and let soil dry.

2. Choose a type of mulch.
   There are so many types - and determining which on is for you can be confusing. I advise asking a local expert, your extension office can help.
   To help you match the right mulch to your garden, here's an overview of the types of mulch available:

   • If you prefer homemade mulch, try using shredded leaves and dried grass clippings. Since these materials are abundant and FREE they are perfect for a no frills garden. But take caution - these types of mulch can heat up or mold if too thick. Try to spread no thicker than 2 inches.
   • Newspaper is great for budget-tight gardening. Use a layer of 5 sheets thick underneath a thin layer of attractive store bought mulch.
   • Shredded bark is my favorite. I use Pine nuggets bark in my landscaping because it's durable, attractive, inexpensive, and smells great all year long. I pay $3-$4/bag. There are lots of bark mulches available in many colors & sizes. Match the size of your chunks to the size of your landscaping. If you have a small house and yard with dainty flowers, use small bark pieces. If you have a large home with mature plantings, then the larger nuggets will look great.
   • My second favorite type of mulch is Pine Needles, but it's a regional product that's hard to find in my area. If you have access to pine needles and like the woodland look I highly recommend them. They last two to four seasons are provide nutrients to your plantings.

3. Calculate how much mulch you'll need.
   Curious as to how to calculate the amount of mulch you need? Mulch is usually sold by the cubic yard, and that can leave gardeners scratching their head when trying to figure out how much to buy. The easiest way is to visit our website, freehousehelp.org and click on the Mulch Calculator button in the homeowner resources menu on our home page.

   If you are a math junkie, use this formula:

   1. First, find out the size of the area you want to cover in square feet. This is easy; just multiply the length of your garden by the width.

   2. Next, decide how deep you want your mulch to be, in inches. A couple of inches is usually sufficient.

   3. Now multiply the size of your garden in square feet (#1) by the depth of your mulch in inches (#2).

   4. Divide the number you get in #3 by 324. This is the number of cubic yards of mulch you will need to cover your garden.

Tips & Warnings

• As a rule, the bigger the mulch chunks, the longer they last. Soft or green materials, such as leaves or grass clippings, break down faster than dry woody elements, such as straw, pine needles, or bark. Stone or gravel last an eternity. In general, mulches with heavy or large pieces are more likely to stay put. Those that form a mat, such as leaves and pine needles, are usually stable, too.

• Steer clear of wood chips that are a byproduct of the timber industry. The quality can vary and often includes recycled wood from pallets and construction. These materials may contain toxins that could cause terrible damage to your soil and plants.

• If you need to cover a large area, try to buy in bulk. When evaluating cost, remember to factor in how long the material will last.

• Dark-color mulches will absorb and retain more heat from the sun than lighter ones. That's an advantage in cooler regions but a disadvantage in hotter climates.

• Light and heat reflected from a light-color mulch (particularly decorative landscaping types, such as white stones) can dangerously overheat surrounding plants.

• Wear long pants, sleeved shirts, and gloves when mulch especially if you have and cuts or sores. Mulch can have a very high level of bacteria when it's wet. ER doctors have told me that they see TONS of bad infections every year caused in the garden by mulch.

• Light and heat reflected from a light-color mulch (particularly decorative landscaping types, such as white stones) can dangerously overheat surrounding plants.

• Wear long pants, sleeved shirts, and gloves when mulch especially if you have and cuts or sores. Mulch can have a very high level of bacteria when it's wet. ER doctors have told me that they see TONS of bad infections every year caused in the garden by mulch.

• One negative potential side effect of mulching is that slugs, worms, and other bothersome bugs love cool, moist, dark places. To minimize bugs in areas that don't get much sunlight, use only a thin layer of mulch.

• And always keep the mulch several inches away from the base of your plants. Your plants need to breathe!

• A positive attribute of mulching is that raindrops won't hit the soil surface, so soil is less likely to wash away or splash onto plants. This keeps plants cleaner and free of some soil-dwelling diseases. If your soil is dry, water it before applying mulch and don't forget to pull any weeds

Resources

• Mulch Calculator