2 Mistakes You're Making With Mulch
Do you think you know all there is to know about mulch? If your idea of mulching is running to the store, grabbing as many bags of your favorite wood chips as your budget will allow, and then tossing those chips around your plants and along your garden paths, you've got a bit to learn. Read on for 2 mistakes you're probably making when mulching your garden.
You're Piling It On Good And High
You want a thick layer of mulch in your garden, yes. But mulch is really good at holding moisture in, and plants resting in soggy soil can develop all kinds of problems. The roots of your plants need oxygen to survive, so they'll actually drown if the soil surrounding them stays saturated for an extended period of time. Furthermore, many harmful organisms that attack and destroy roots favor wet environments.
If you haven't mulched in a couple of years, go ahead and spread a layer of mulch that's up to 5 inches deep. If you are a diligent mulcher, however, and just gave your garden beds a new layer last year, then limit your mulch thickness to 2 to 3 inches. This will provide enough mulch to keep your plants from drying out but won't keep the ground so wet that it causes problems.
Examine your plants every few days. If you water them regularly and they seem to be yellowing, or they appear limp, wilted, or stunted, they may be water-logged. Pull the mulch up and away from the plants for a few days so that the soil may dry out, and then either remove some of the mulch before placing it back around the plants, or replace the mulch and scale back on the frequency of your watering.
You're Using It To Kill Weeds
A lot of gardeners think that they can eliminate weeds from their gardens by spreading a layer of mulch so thick that no sunlight can penetrate it. Besides a super thick layer of mulch causing all the problems discussed in the first tip on this page, it also won't kill weeds; it will only inhibit their growth. Weeds are some of the most resilient plants in the world, and you're not going to stop them unless you get ahead of them.
Landscape fabric will kill your weeds, but it will also cause a whole host of other problems, such as discouraging beneficial earthworms and organic matter from entering your garden.
If you want to eliminate weeds without causing your plants and soil harm, you've got to weed the entire area you plan to mulch, before you mulch it. Once you've gotten all the nuisance plants out of the soil, spray the area with a pre-emergent herbicide. Pre-emergent herbicides work to stop seed germination. They won't kill your established plants, but they will keep wind-blown weed seeds that land in your garden from sprouting. For vegetable gardens, look for a pre-emergent herbicide specifically labeled safe for veggie gardens.
After you've sprayed your bare soil with pre-emergent herbicide and waited the duration of time recommended on the bottle, then you can spread your mulch. The herbicide will make sure not many seeds are able to sprout, and the mulch will kill those that are able to survive the herbicide by depriving them of sunlight.
If you're spreading out as much mulch in your garden as you can get your hands on and expecting it to kill all the pre-existing weeds, you're mulching wrong. Mulch slows weeds down, but it won't kill them; and laying too much of it down is very detrimental to your good plants. This year, mulch your garden the right way by weeding it well and applying a pre-emergent weed killer before mulching, and keeping your mulch thickness to a minimum.