Felder's Mulch Finds

Page A6 Thursday, March 27, 2025 MAGNOLIA GAZETTE

Lucked up on several overstuffed bags of freshly mown oak leaves and grass clippings on a neighbor’s curb. There were no pines or magnolias, so the leaves were uniform, and the yard sported a few wildflowers so I knew the clippings weren’t treated with herbicides. Being in my truck, of course I snagged them all as free mulch.

Some garden topics seem so simple and straightforward they should just go without saying much about them. Like talking about the weather, even the most banal can get pretty involved rather quickly. But, like Hank Kimball, the county agent on Green Acres, I often catch myself waxing on and on about esoteric, eye-rolling topics, while realizing that getting into detail with even the most solid, advice will rarely convince most folks to change the way they have always weeded, watered, or mowed their lawns.

But every now and then I still throw out some considerations on important but humdrum chores to help folks better understand why they do what they do. Or in my case what I do compulsively, like rescuing curbside leaves.

All that said, is there any garden topic less exciting than mulch? Differing opinions about materials and methods aside, it’s just putting something porous on top of the dirt. End of, right?

Let’s, er, dig a bit deeper, in case you are running out of weather to talk about, starting with a basic definition.

Mulches are just porous, non-plant-toxic materials used to blanket soil in the landscape, garden, and outdoor potted plants. They shade and lower temperatures in the summer, insulate in the winter, conserve moisture, prevent soil compaction and splattering in heavy rains, slow erosion, and reduce weed seed germination. It’s a plus if mulch can stay in place during heavy rains and help reduce erosion on slight to moderate slopes.

Other less tangible benefits include being a unifying element to help the garden look neat and tidy. I also consider price; free is ideal but I often settle for what I can find locally in inexpensive easy-tomaneuver bags. And this old guy needs mulch that can spread without much effort.

The most commonly used mulch materials, each with its own opinion-worthy pros and cons, are mowed leaves, chipped bark, shredded wood, pine straw, compost, gravel or other small rocks, pinecones; in potted plants I have used Mardi gras beads, marbles, and beer bottle caps because they tick all the boxes, and I have lots of them.

I have my personal favs, starting with chopped tree leaves like I discovered last week, which are circulated deep around plant roots by worms which burrow tunnels for water, air, and rich vermicompost nutrients. My next go-to is bark or chipped wood, which are easy to spread, last the whole season, and also feed the soil. Of course, to avoid tempting termites to make my home their home, I don’t pile them deep or use close to the house. Pine straw is my last resort because though it does stay put on slopes and off the walk, it takes four or five inches to cover and doesn’t feed my soil.

Regardless of what kind of mulch, my thumb-rule for how much to use is “enough to completely cover the ground, then that much more to allow for settling.”

Mulching is one of my easiest and most beneficial garden chores.

To quote my old Extension horticulture agent buddy Randolph Smith (not making this up), “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, you don’t pull the mask off that old lone ranger, and you don’t scrimp on those mulches.”