So why mulch?

It looks nice, but are there other reasons to mulch?  What type of mulch should you use? Where do you start??

Today I'll share the reasons we mulch, and I use the term "we" loosely.  This is one area that Brad really takes over and does the bulk of the work.  The boy loves to mulch, and I love to let him!

Anyway, why we like to mulch:

• To keep in the water.  Around here, it gets hot and humid in the summer (along with hazy, we all it the HHH days of summer).  Without mulch, the water that does go into the ground won't stay. 
•  Nutrients: Over time, mulch will break down in the soil and just make it better.  When you start will the red Virginia clay, that is a huge deal!
• Weed control: A nice layer of 3-4 inches of mulch will help with weeding. 
• And yes, it looks nice!

There are so many types of mulch, and a lot of the choice is personal taste. Where I grew up, we had a lot of pine trees.  We raked pine needles and mulched with those, mostly because it was free!

Today, we use a basic shredded hardwood mulch. Check out all the colors you could get: 

There are many organic choices (grass clippings, coffee grounds etc), and stones and rocks can also provide good ground cover and weed control with a layer of plastic underneath. 

As our MOPS speaker last week shared (from our local garden center Snows), you can get creative.  They recently did huge planters at a golf club, and mulched with mass amounts of....golf balls! 

So get out there mulching, and get creative!