How to make a mulch bed? It takes specific steps before this can be done.
It needs patience, an artistic and creative mind, and the will to do so.
One of our past time or activity that gives us joy is through doing our garden by beautifying our plants and the landscape.
This is one way to relieve stress, a hobby, or as a source of income.
Indeed, one thing that makes our homes extra lovelier is the beautiful landscape and extra effort to arrange our plants.
As for me, no matter how much I would love to do so, my means won’t allow me to do this thing; our house can only cater plants in pots.
We don’t have ample space for landscaping activities.
What Is Mulching?
Mulching is a type of gardening technique.
It is widely practiced and proven to be practical and helpful for our plants if it is done correctly.
In mulching, we cover the soil using the following materials: wood chips, leaves, bark, and other organic materials.
It will help to nurture and make the soil healthy.
The mulch serves as fertilizer and is very helpful if we want to achieve healthy soil.
When we make mulch, we can consider having a colored one.
This is one way of adding beauty to the landscape design you’re up to.
At the same time, we are improving the soil for your plants.
Common Type Of Mulch
The following are examples of organic mulch
- Grass
- Leaves
- Three wood chips
- Compost
The following are examples of inorganic mulch
- Lava rock
- Stones
- Pulverized rubber
- Crusher dust
When to Mulch
Mulching cannot be done whenever we want to.
There is what we call mulching season or time to mulch.
Generally, the mulching season is during the middle to late spring.
That is the time when our soil is warming up from the winter temperature is experienced.
If it is done earlier or not during the mulching season, this will cause the warming process to slow down.
It is also not accepted to mulch late in the fall.
Steps To Make Mulch Beds
Making mulch Beds is not as easy as one two three.
It needs patience and dedication to do so.
To achieve the desired results, here the steps.
So, how to make a mulch bed?
Step #1. Clean the bed by killing and removing the weeds
Weeds also benefit from mulching, so they should be removed first.
Killing and removing weeds can be done through a natural method like using vinegar and newspaper.
Or it can be done by using herbicide used for killing weeds.
Take note to do this two weeks before mulching to make sure that weeds are entirely removed.
You may also trim the bushes found near your mulch bed.
Step #2. Rake the mulch bed
At this step, you can prepare your mulch bed to be clean.
You may use the rake to remove any organic materials found in the mulch bed like the fallen leaves or seeds.
This will also be useful in removing the leaves from the trimmed bushes and trees.
Step #3. Cultivate the soil
This step is essential for making mulch beds, for our primary goal is to make the soil healthy.
We can use a hand-operated soil cultivator.
This will help in making the soil healthy by adding air and moisture directly to the ground.
Step #4. Edge the mulch bed
This step has nothing to do with the soil but for aesthetic purposes.
This will help in beautifying the mulch bed.
Then we can smoothen our mulch bed, we can use a rake or other gardening tools.
This is helpful for we can flatten the bed to prevent uneven portions when we put the mulch.
Step #5. Treat the mulch bed
You can do it by using herbicides; we need to kill and obliterate the weed.
So that it won’t benefit when we start mulching to avoid stealing nutrients.
After completing all the steps, you may now start mulching.
After completing the steps above, mulching can be done.
The measurement of the mulch needed is as follows.
Total area x how deep you want your mulch.
This total area is in feet, while the desired depth for your mulch is in inches.
After multiplying, divide the product by 324.
This will result in the total cubic yards needed for our mulch.
Tips
Choose a colored mulch that will match the exterior design of your home.
The color must compliment your design so that it can help to add more beauty.
Clean it well.
Re-mulching may need to remove the mulch that you put first.
Consider different kinds of mulch.
There are lots of mulch to try.
Mulching correctly.
Don’t use too much and too little mulch.
Avoid using bad mulch.
Avoid getting mulch from unverified and untrusted sources.
Conclusion
Mulching is an interesting task.
It requires patience and hard work on how to make a mulch bed.
Creating a mulch bed is quite hard for beginners, but it is doable and manageable if you follow the steps correctly.
It will help to pull out the inner gardener and landscaper in you.
You can design it in the comfort of your own home.
This can be done as a hobby or a pastime family activity.
It will help in making the soil healthy for healthier plants and a beautiful view of your home.