The Best Time Of Year To Start Mulching Your Plants

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There are countless good reasons to mulch gardens, from weed suppression to moisture retention. However, adding material at the wrong time of year is a mulching mistake that could ruin your garden. While there are a few times throughout the year when you may want to refresh your mulch, throughout most of the United States, mid- to late-spring is typically considered the best time to start mulching your plants for a number of reasons.

There are two primary reasons why you should wait a bit and not start mulching the moment the air begins to warm in early spring. For starters, keep in mind mulch insulates. This means it can help the soil remain warm or cool. If you live in an area where the ground cooled substantially during winter, mulching too early will trap that chill and delay the warming process. Secondly, the same smothering qualities that help mulch suppress weeds will also prevent your plants from growing if they are covered. That means it is necessary to wait for your plants to sprout before covering them in mulch. So, the best time of year to start mulching your plants is once the soil has sufficiently warmed and your spring plants have sprouted.

Mulching around newly sprouted plants in mid- to late-spring is a start, but there are other times throughout the year when you should consider adding mulch. During that initial mulching, you should determine how much mulch you need. Typically, this will be a layer of a couple of inches. However, natural materials such as Miracle-Gro Organic All Natural Mulch will decompose over time. This process is actually necessary to help distribute nutrients into the soil. But, it also means the layer will dwindle and need to be refreshed. Adding a bit of fresh mulch in early- to mid-summer will help the soil maintain moisture and remain at a relatively moderate temperature.

As autumn arrives, whether to once again refresh your mulch will depend primarily on where you live and the type of plants growing in your garden. If you live in an area where cold winter temperatures prevent year-round gardening, there is not much need in adding additional mulch late in the season. However, if you have plants growing throughout the year and are wanting to insulate them from cold conditions, an additional dose of mulch can be a big help. 

If you are adding mulch for winter protection, it is necessary to time it right. Piling on fresh mulch too soon, as in before the first frost, may cause the plants to not adequately acclimate to the falling temperatures. Therefore, it is better to hold off until there has been a frost or two before adding additional mulch. Depending on where you live, this may be as early as November or as late as the end of December. For winter mulching, you may also want to consider materials such as pine needles, hay, straw, shredded leaves, or wood chips, which create air spaces for added insulation.