Mulching: Mimicry or Murder?
contain natural germination inhibitors) and the soil will stay moister longer between waterings or rain. Rotted mulch in the soil acts like a sponge and helps soil hold water; it adds air space, too, which is also important for healthy roots. Since the mulch adds some nutrients to the soil, you may even be able to fertilize less. I love working less, spending less and getting more back, don't you?
So anyway, maybe you don't believe me that too much mulch really can be too much of a good thing and not as Mae West said "too much of a good thing is ... wonderful" at all but instead over mulching is an open invitation to a host of problems.
Here's a great summary of why you should not mound mulch up around tree trunks or pile it so deeply around azaleas that they try to root into it in search of air.... nature has a way of self correcting, and if you tamper with the system too much you will break it, at least temporarily. So, tell the truth now, Are You Guilty of Over Mulching?
I know I'm not guilty, even if mulching seems to be the only thing I've been getting done around home lately -- mulching is hard work and I never seem to catch up!
And maybe someday I'll tell you the story of how I, the overachiever beginner gardener, frantically mulched my azaleas after work one evening by the light of headlights, working against the falling thermometer, thinking I had to get the mulch on before an unseasonably early fall frost or my azaleas would die.
That episode stays in my mind, reminding me about the hazards of factoids and partial understanding. My gray wool suit and silk blouse never quite recovered and I had to replace the high heels on my shoes. The azaleas, of course, were fine and the mulching could easily have waited. I still smile and shake my head. I had only the best of intentions.
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