Why don’t many people use MULCH?

[Utopia Palms]

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[Utopia Palms]

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[Neofolis]

I mulch my outside pots heavily over winter and don't water the plants at all during this time, but I remove the mulch in spring, because, despite the obvious benefits, I find it really difficult to tell when mulched pots need watering and I have found meters to be insufficiently accurate.  That said, with my current pot medium, I am basically growing my plants in mulch, although going by some of the previous posts, that may not be such a good idea, as it contains a high percentage of bark chippings.  Everything seems happy enough though and continues to grow.

[Kris]

Dear Clayton  

its been a while we heard from you ! its great to hear from you_Buddy !  

though we had the assistance from eastern nursery_Jon.

but i missed you in our discussion board,hope to see more interaction...

your gardens seem to be doing great,from the above stills i can see that.

Love,

Kris  

[BS Man about Palms]

Bumping this thread so I can find it easier as I hope to mulch the whole front yard soon!

Any idea if the gopher problem gets better or worse or stays the same?  Is it harder to see the mounds under the mulch?

Also, would one "pull out" the grass, weeds etc. or just cover it up?  I like the less weeds idea.

[Shon]

Bill, I would pull everything out and not just cover it up.It is easier to maintain that way. Can't answer your question about gophers though seeing as I don't have them.

[Mats]

I hope to mulch the whole front yard soon!

What are you going to use - composted green waste or shredded bark? Whatever you use, use a lot.  4" will compact down to 2.5 or 3" almost overnight.

Any idea if the gopher problem gets better or worse or stays the same?  Is it harder to see the mounds under the mulch?

I don't have experience with gophers but can't imagine it is going to help alleviate the problem.  And yes, you won't see their mounds under the mulch.

Also, would one "pull out" the grass, weeds etc. or just cover it up?  I like the less weeds idea.

That depends on much grass and weed you have.  Why not mow, spray with a herbicide and then mulch?  Any grasses or weeds that make it through your mulch later on can be sprayed with your pump sprayer as soon as they pop up.

Some organic types lay newspaper (5+ pages) and mulch on top of that to kill existing weeds.  But that isn't practical if you're doing the entire front yard.  

If you're trying to improve clay soil, then mulching with compost is the best thing you can do.  The problem with compost is, it keeps breaking down (composting) and you need to replenish a couple times a year.  Bark is longer lasting but doesn't improve the soil nearly as quickly.

[BS Man about Palms]

Well, I'm in the process of posting about a big eucalyptus tree I had. Would the bark, etc be fine to break up and lay down?

[Justin]

After 6+ years, I finally got around to mulching the yard this year.  I did it for a couple reasons not mentioned, such as when I had palms planted in the lawn, the gardeners would routinely nick the palms while weed-eating.  My main goal was to alleviate weeds and lower my water bill.  Frankly, any increase in growth, health, etc. was secondary.

So far the results are good, but then again its summertime, so they'd probably be good anyway.

The only bedding area I didn't mulch was where the Proteas are - they have a lot of tiny surface roots that don't like to be damp except during the winter.  Just an FYI for those of you who have Proteas and Palms near one another.

[DoomsDave]

I MULCH, therefore I am!

I am not here to bury Caesar, but to turn him into mulch!

(Et tu Brute?)

How can you NOT mulch?  How can you not wake up in the morning?  Or got to sleep in the evening?  (or vice versa for contrarians) How can you not breathe?  How can you not go pee-pee . .. .

You get the idea.

Oh, I know, I've heard the objections: "odor"  "mess"

But, a forest is nothing more than a mulch pile with trees growing in it . . . .