Your Central Florida landscape adds charm and beauty to your home. You plant trees, shrubs, and flowers, but to give it that professional look and feel you need to add mulch.
Mulching not only makes your yard look amazing, it also means you won’t have to spend so much taking care of it. Mulch also increases the moisture in the soil, reduces weeds, and supplies vital nutrients to the soil, which means you won’t have to do so much work.
What type of mulch?
There are two types mulches, inorganic and organic
Inorganic mulch such as stones, pebbles, and rock, come in a variety of textures, colors, and sizes. While great for areas with heavy foot traffic, they don’t need to be replaced as often as organic mulch, but unfortunately they also don’t add nutrients to the soil.
Rocks are very versatile from the elegant look of marble chips, to the natural feel of river rock, and rich color of cedar bark rock and timberlite.
Organic mulch includes
Organic mulch such as pine bark, chocolate, and red mulch, giving your landscape that well manicured look. But will need to replaced once every one to two years.
It is important to add the right amount of mulch
The National Gardening Association suggests using 3 to 4 inches of organic mulch each season. Around soft stemmed perennials and annuals use a 2 to 3 inch layer. Fine bark mulch decomposes faster and adds nutrients to the soil, great for vegetable gardens.
Areas prone to flooding, slopes, and pathways can benefit from stones or a larger bark mulch. They don’t wash away as easily as shredded mulch and won’t have to be applied as often.
How much mulch will you need?
For a 100 square foot area
for mulch 4 inches deep, you will need around 34 cubic feet,
for mulch 3 inches deep will need 25 cubic feet
for mulch 2 inches deep will need 17 cubic feet.
1 cubic yard equals 27 cubic feet, that’s about how much fits into the bed of a small pick up truck.
The mulch calculator from The National Garden Association is a great to determine how much soil you will need.
Not all mulches are the same
Choosing a quality mulch from a quality supplier can make all the difference in your landscape and garden. Don’t let all your hard work go to waste because you chose a mulch with hazardous chemical, toxins, or weed seeds.
Reliable Peat makes landscaping easier! Don’t forget to take advantage of our special, 10% off all bulk orders over 6 yards.
