Mulching

Benefits:

• Improves soil structure
• Adds organic matter
• Aerates
• Retains soil moisture by reducing soil water loss
• Encourages root development
• Suppresses weeds
• Protects against temperature extremes
• Reduces erosion

Types:

Organic mulch

• Shredded pine bark, cedar, wood chips
• As they decompose, they add beneficial organic matter to the soil

Hard

• Mineral base, stone, brick chips, lava rock
• Tend not to blow around
• Generates heat

Proper technique:

Proper depth should be 2-4", over mulching can lead to plant suffocation.

Never bury stems or pile mulch up against the trunks of trees and shrubs.

This holds moisture in the wrong place leading to rot, decay, dieback and even plant death. Trunk flares should always be visible.

Leave an area of approximately 2-3" around the base of the plants clear of any mulch.

Make mulch donuts, not mulch volcanoes.