by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: July 11, 2008   Last Updated: September 24, 2010

Mulching is labor saving to the gardener. It means less weeding. It is one sure way of having nature do much of the backbreaking work of gardening for you. All you will need to do to take advantage of its capabilities it should always be applied in the spring but not too soon and not too late. How will you know what to do and when to do it? That all depends on whether you are uncovering your perennials, mulching your new garden plants or covering or uncovering the ground around your trees.

Since the soil won't warm up around your perennials until you remove he winter covering of mulch, remove the heaped up layers of old leaves and other mulching in early spring to allow the sun to warm the soil and to bring to life the dormant plants. This mission accomplished, you can then re-mulch to keep the soil moist and to make sure the nutrients around the plants don't leach out.

When mulching around your new garden plants you need to consider what kind of mulch will work best. Without doubt the best kind of mulch is compost but there usually not enough of that to go around each spring. To assure that your tomatoes and your banana peppers and your beans get the right kind of nourishment you sparingly mulch these new little plants with a light covering of compost. Then you can top that off with straw, grass clippings or shredded leaves or what ever else is plentiful. This will hold in the moisture, keep weeds from growing and will decompose into nutrients for the vegetables.

Now that what to do while spring mulching has been learned, next is what not to do. Don't mulch close to the trees. Leave a good two or three inches of breathing space between the mulch and the tree bark. Mulch hold in moisture and if this is against the trees it will cause rot and fungus growth. Also, as with the perennials, the winter covering should be removed early in the spring to allow the soil around the tree to warm up. When it is sufficiently warm then mulch can be again applied. It will help hold in moisture and will protect the top soil from the rain and wind.

The kind of mulch does not much matter as long as it does not contain weed seeds or is not toxic in some form. Usually when thinking of mulch one thinks only of the attractiveness of the mulch; while this is an important issue to consider, it is by far not the most important one. I believe that one should first consider what is available and then fill in for beauty whenever there is a glaring need. Gravel and brick or marble chips

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