Tips for Spring Mulching

September 3, 2018
Posted By admin

Spring is coming very soon and it’s a time when the whole world seems to come alive again. Arguably the most beautiful season, it’s warm, balmy, and a tonic after the chilly winter months. It’s also a time to enjoy being outside before summer heat and humidity set in.

The urge to get out into the garden is almost primitive when those first sunny spring weekends arrive. There’s nothing quite like planting in herbs, vegetables, and flowering plants. And part of doing this successfully means great preparation.

Whether you’re planting some pots or an entire garden bed, laying down mulch in early spring is essential for suppression f weeds, retention of moisture, and moderation of soil temperature. But it can be a fine line between not enough mulch and too much…

Mulch that is piled too high and too close to roots can actually kill a plant or tree by suppressing root growth.
Mulching placed too close to a house’s foundation can encourage breeding of termites.
Too much mulch can cause trunks and roots to rot
Too much mulch can cause a secondary root system to develop; this in turn leaved a plant vulnerable to drought and other weather extremes.

Here are some basic spring mulching tips:

Buy cheap mulch in Perth. Mulch purchased at Oakford Firewood and Mulch is organic and of premium quality.
At the beginning of spring, strip off as much old mulch as possible from the surface of the garden.
Apply some balanced organic fertiliser to the stripped garden beds
Top dress the garden or pot with a couple of centimetres of fresh mulch in a layer all over. The mulch layer must never be any deeper than seven centimetres or so.
Make sure mulch doesn’t touch tree trunks, or the trunks of shrubs or smaller plants.
Make sure that your mulch doesn’t have any weeds – if it does. Remove them promptly to avoid a big weeding job in summer.

Next time we will address more spring gardening tips for how to make your outdoor space stand out for all of the right reasons.