Mulch in your yard landscaping is beneficial to your soil and vegetation in many ways, as it protects the soil, is beneficial to your vegetation, provides weed control, and helps prevent moisture loss through evaporation. To keep your mulch working and looking its best, there are some guidelines you can use and practice in your yard to keep the mulch beneficial as much as possible. The following provides you with some recommendations to help you maintain and manage your yard mulching.

Evaluate Your Mulching Surfaces

Before you order and apply new mulch to a landscaped area, you should evaluate the area and any elements that can affect its success as a soil covering. If you are working with an area that receives downspout or gutter rain wash, install a barrier or collection area to protect the mulch from being washed away. And if you are planning to place mulch onto an area that is sloped, you will need additional materials to install the mulch so that it does not erode away. 

Contact a mulch supplier in your area to find some landscape netting or erosion control blankets to apply down onto the soil to help keep the mulch from sliding downhill. Avoid using any plastic landscape fabric underneath your mulch layer, as it can make the mulch slide down it similar to a playground slide. Look to order mulch that is larger pieces and chunks, which will be of a heavier weight to hold their position on the soil. Other types of mulch you can order are any shredded mulches that tangle together to create a connected covering.

Plan For Mulch Maintenance

When you are installing organic mulch onto your landscaped areas, make sure you order enough mulch that it covers the soil with at least an inch of mulch, two or more inches based on the needs of your soil and the vegetation you have planted. If the soil contains clay and does not drain well, don't apply more than two inches of mulch over the site. Or, if you are applying mulch around trees, be sure to apply three to four inches of mulch but don't apply it directly up against the trunk of each tree. Mulch around the trunk will hold moisture in and make an ideal space for mold, rot, and pest and insect problems.

Watch out for any thinning of the mulch layer so you can add new mulch to supplement it. When your mulch starts to fade in color, you can turn over the mulch and mix it to reveal fresh new mulch and to improve its appearance and condition.

Contact a company like Red Mill Landscaping & Nursery to learn more.