What do you know about mulch? If you’ve been gardening for a while, you probably know quite a bit about mulch. If you’ve only been gardening for a few seasons, you still probably know quite a lot about mulch. It’s mulch.
The big question is: what kind of mulch do you use?
A lot depends on the season and where in the world you are. For example, since you’re located in central Florida, you probably don’t have to worry about months of snow covering your lawns and flower beds. Or winds that will knock over anything it can just for the fun of it – unless it’s hurricane season.
Central Florida gets a generous helping of rain almost year-round. The climate is tropical, so there’s not only plenty of rain, there’s humidity, heat, dry spells, winds, and occasional cold snaps that might leave a slight frost in the mornings during December and January. Sometimes there are goats or alligators, but a different breed of professionals handles those.
This part of Florida also has a plethora of theme parks, water parks, and entertainment for the whole family. In addition, some theme parks have garden shows, art festivals, and other special events that almost always include fantastic topiaries, rare flowers, and plants (with mulch). Not to mention lots of people competing for a space in line with many other people of all ages, trying to get to the food, water, and other edible goodies.
Working with a landscaping company like Custom Acres will free up a lot of your time to enjoy all the activities, and you will still have a lawn and garden. In addition, you have more freedom to decide what you’d like to do in your gardens, and how much you’d like to do it. So, let’s chat about a few precautions you will need to take if you decide to do some of your mulching, which is pretty intensive.
- Hydration is not just for plants and grass. Drink plenty of water while you are working in your garden.
- Throw a little shade! A hat and sunglasses will help protect your eyes and skin and keep you cooler.
- Protective clothing. No, you don’t have to put on a puffy coat and heavy jeans, but you do want clothing that’s loose and cooling and will protect you from a bad sunburn.
- Sunblock. One thing that Floridians seem to take for granted is the probability of sunburn. But sunburn is dangerous and can lead to skin conditions that can threaten your well-being and maybe your life.
Gardening gloves are not on that list, but they will keep your hands clean, which seems like it might be a health issue for the very bottom of the list, but let’s consider this a bit.
For instance, if you’re handling roses, you might get bit slightly by the thorns. There could be blood, which means an opening, ever so tiny, in your skin that bacteria could enter. So gloves for things with thorns, splinters, and bits that can break off and leave a sharp or pointy spot, just makes good sense.
And let’s face it, nobody can resist the feel of rich soil between their fingers, so those gloves will, eventually, be lying on the ground next to your knees.
Ready, Set, Shop!
If you are mulching yourself, you will eventually find yourself in a garden center. However, if you have partners in your yard and garden care, like Custom Acres, you still are in a position to make some choices about the mulch that will be used.
Custom Acres will consult with you about nearly every step when it comes to your garden. For example, many gardeners change mulch every year or season or sometimes more. In addition, you might want to change the mulch color in the bedding closest to the house to better match or contrast with the color of your house.
The texture of the mulch can change as well. For example, you might prefer more chunky mulch around the roots of your more giant trees and bushes, allowing some extra moisture to reach the roots during rain or watering. On the other hand, smaller plants might need smaller mulch.
Some mulches include fertilizers, pest control, or other chemical content. Make sure those chemicals are compatible with your plants and lawns. The Custom Acres landscaper will consult with you about this, too.
When, Where, How?
There’s always a little confusion about mulch because a garden needs it pretty much year-round. So, “when” depends on the time of year and the type of plants. For example, mulching around a flock of daisies is different from mulching around an old weeping willow.
“Where” is much easier and highly dependent on when you’re mulching. If you’re facing the heat of the summer, you are mulching to retain water in the soil. In the winter, you add more mulch and further up the stems to protect the roots.
In spring and fall, you are changing the mulch for renewing the best properties of the mulch you’ve chosen. On the other hand, maybe you’re just changing the mulch for cosmetic reasons. Whatever your reason, mulch does need to be changed and renewed.
“How” is much easier – with your hands! If you’re working on level bedding, you’ve probably got your knees on the ground, either in the dirt or on one of those gardening knee pads. You are scooping the mulch with your hands and carefully placing it around each plant, young or old, to protect it or increase the benefits of watering.
Raised bedding is usually easier on the back but often needs more mulch to cover the soil between the plants and around the plants. This is where you might be considering cosmetic changes.
Depending on the variety and age, trees and shrubs will also need mulch during extreme weather, but you’ll probably apply it by the bucketful.
Weather or not…
If you have ever lived in a part of the country with extreme cold weather or live part-time there and part-time here, you know the weather can make a big difference in what you’re doing for your garden to protect it. Mulch is usually a big part of the answer, whether the protection is for snow, wind, rain, or heat.