How to Mulch Soil

Organic mulches are often composed of materials like wood chips and leaves.

Adding mulch to your soil provides a vast array of benefits that all lead to healthier landscape plants. You can use either organic or inorganic materials. Using organic mulch is a natural form of recycling in which you can re-purpose plant debris like fallen leaves, though inorganic mulch has its place in the garden, as well. Mulch your soil to keep pests at bay, retain soil moisture, improve your soil's nutrient content, protect your plants from mowing, and stabilize soil temperatures

Things You'll Need

• Organic mulch
• Inorganic mulch
• Spade
• Shovel
• Gardening gloves
• U-shaped nails

Instructions

1. Use organic mulch if you need to improve the nutrient content of your soil as organic materials decompose and combine with your soil over time. Lay compost as a mulch to increase alkalinity of your soil (raise the pH level), or use a material like pine needles or oak leaves to increase acidity (lower the pH) of your soil.

2. Use an inorganic mulch like black plastic or landscape cloth available at garden supply stores for use as mulch if your soil is well-drained, as wet soil will likely remain too wet beneath these materials which can cause rot problems. Lay this type of mulch primarily to deter weed growth without altering the conditions and nutrient content of your soil.

3. Manually remove any weeds on your mulching site before laying mulch by hand-pulling them or removing them with a spade. Apply mulch to your plants' soil just after planting and then every spring once soil begins to warm.

4. Lay organic mulch at a depth of 2 to 3 inches. Use a shovel or gloved hands to evenly spread mulch. Keep mulch from pressing against plant stems, tree trunks and buildings. Create a ring of mulch free soil with mulch beginning at a distance of 1 foot for trees and 3 inches for other landscape plants. Maintain a mulch free area of 1 foot from buildings, as well, according to the Clemson University Extension.

5. Cover the entire plant bed or lay a circle of mulch that measures 2 feet in diameter for every 1 inch of your tree trunk's diameter, according to the Clemson University Extension.

6. Turn your pile once monthly by bringing the bottom layer to the top and the top to the bottom to keep it from becoming "sour," according to the Clemson University Extension. Soured mulch is mulch that becomes extremely acidic and poisonous to your soil and plants.

7. Lay your inorganic mulch, if you choose this material, over your site's soil. Cover black plastic with a 1-inch layer of wood chips to disguise it and to prolong its life as the sun causes it to deteriorate. Fasten cloth to the ground with the use of U-shaped nails. Cover cloth with approximately 4 inches of organic mulch like wood chips or leaves to increase its effectiveness, suggests the Clemson University Extension.

Tips & Warnings

• Contact your local county extension agent for further assistance in selecting the appropriate mulch for your region and gardening needs.

• Wear gardening gloves to protect your hands.

References

• Ohio State University Extension: Mulching Landscape Plants
• Clemson University Extension: Mulch
• University of California IPM Online: Weed Management in Landscapes Management Guidelines -- UC IPM