What's the Big Deal About Mulch?

Collin County Master Gardener Association President Kim Schultz has a tagline on her e-mail that reads “compost once mulch forever”.

If there is one thing you can do to have a healthy garden, it’s to keep a two inch layer of mulch on the planting beds.

These are some of the benefits of mulch:

Controls weeds so you have less maintenance

Prevents soil erosion and compaction

Keeps the soil moist so you water less

Regulates soil temperature – sort of like a sweater in the winter and a sun umbrella in the summer

Keeps plants cleaner and protects plants from soil borne disease by keeping water from splashing on the plants

Feeds the microorganisms that feed the soil

Adds nutrients to the soil as it breaks down

How do you know how much to order? Here’s a handy formula:

Length x Width X Depth

For instance, a planting bed 20 long x 10 deep with 2" of mulch would equate to:

10 x 20 x .167 = 33.4 cubic feet

Bulk mulch is ordered by the cubic yard, so divide this number by 9 to equal 3.71 cubic yards