Mulching enough or too much?

Are you mulching enough or too much? We have all heard that we should mulch our beds to save water and have healthy plants. There are factors that should be considered before you disease or kill your plants with too much mulch lovin.

First you have to decide what to mulch with. Wood chips are a popular item as they are readily available at low cost from arborists. Some problems that may occur is that these chips are not composted and thus carry any disease that the tree or shrub may have had . Thus you may be putting a disease at the base of your plant! A composted ( cooked) mulch is preferred as the heat kills the disease that may have been present.

Recycled rubber chips are gaining popularity as they last along time and retain there color for a along time. The downside is that you do not get that earthy smell and some belive that small amounts of chemical leach into the soil.

How much do you need? What is the harm of having alot?? You should place, in most cases, 4"-6" of mulch. This is thick enough to hamper any weed growth and keep the soil level from drying out in the hot sun. If you put too much mulch it  is detrimental. Too much mulch can promote disease as mold and such starts to grow beneath the mulch. Air flow is resiticted at the soil level and you may find your soil going sour.