Mulching your landscape can seem like a simple exercise. After all, all you need to do is shovel, dump, and spread, right? Well, that’s not entirely true. There is a bit more that needs to be done if you are to get it right. The good thing is if you put a little more thought and sweat into it, you can end up with a beautiful landscape and healthy plants. Let’s look at some tips that will help you to properly lay your mulch.

Calculate How Much Mulch You Need First.

This is the first step. Before you get some mulch, you need to know how much is needed. You don’t want to end up with too much or too little. So how exactly can you figure out how much mulch is needed for your landscape?

You need to figure out the total square footage of the area you are working with. To do this, use your steps. The average step is about 2.5 feet long. You can therefore count the number of steps to measure the width and length, then multiply the two to get your square footage.

Consider the example below:

Length – 10 steps ( x 2.5)

Width – 15 steps (2.5)

Square footage – 25 feet x 37.5 feet = 937.5 square feet

Now that you have your total area, you can then figure out how many bags of mulch to buy. Mulch is sold in cubic yards and one cubic yard covers about 324-square-foot of ground.

That’s if you want to achieve about 2-inch layer thickness.

If the math isn’t your thing, check out our mulch calculator.

Get The Timing Right

You can either lay mulch in spring or the fall. Several advantages come with laying down mulch in the spring. One being that the seasonal rains will help break down the organic materials in the mulch and these materials will get into the soil. This will help give your landscape a fresh look over the entire course of spring and summer. However, if you lay mulch in the fall, it can provide a much-needed layer of insulation for your plants and shield them throughout the colder months.

Regardless of when you apply your mulch, it’s best to do it when the ground is moist and thawed so that the mulch you add will help lock in the moisture.

Get The Best Tools

Ready to get your hands dirty? Now that you have the correct amount of mulch, and you know when to do it, let’s look at how you can get the actual job done.

Tools Needed:

• Shovel
• Wheelbarrow
• Rake
• Gloves

Prepare Your Ground Properly

After you gather all the necessary tools, clean out your beds. Ensure that you do away with all the weeds, sticks, dried leaves, and old mulch. You should also redo the edging along your beds. When the beds are clean and ready, water them. If you have received no rain and the ground is dry, you’ll want to add some moisture. One advantage of mulch is that it suppresses weed growth. You might also want to add some herbicides just to make sure.

Use The Proper Thickness

You can now start spreading your mulch. Shovel mulch from the wheelbarrow or empty the bags onto the ground, creating small heaps. You can then use your hands and the rake to spread it all over. The best thickness is about two to four inches thick. If you apply a very thin layer of mulch, weeds can push through and grow. If the thickness is too much, you might also end up with water not being able to go through and reach the soil. After you have spread everything evenly, you can water the ground again. This is not mandatory, but it can help to settle the mulch properly.

Mulching large pieces of land is easy. When you are dealing with gardens, wait until your plants are growing to avoid burying them and suppressing their growth. Also, ensure that you keep mulch at least three inches from the base of plants and trunks of trees. Avoid mulch volcanoes! Mulching your grounds this spring will give you healthier soil, fewer weeds, and improved water retention throughout the growing season.