Home	Site Map	MV Weather
	Island Lawn & Garden		Lawns	MV Plants	Misc. Landscaping

		Mulching Beds OK. You have a garden bed. It is bare dirt. Your choices are to leave it as is, or to cover it with mulch. Dirt - The local garden club would probably say that dirt is the most natural state of any bed and I agree. And based on properties we care for, I'd add that it is the most formal in appearance. Any weed free, bare dirt bed says, "Someone is giving me constant care and attention." Mulch - The alternative to bare dirt is to cover it with some type of mulch. On Martha's Vineyard, that is usually some derivative of pine bark mulch, hemlock mulch, or cocoa shell mulch. Why Mulch? - Advantages Weed Suppressant - Many weed seeds are quick germinating, but need dirt to do their thing. If they land on a piece of pine mulch and languish there for a few days, they are rendered null and void; Water Retention - While water will quickly seep through dirt, it is absorbed by most mulches and remains more available to plants vs. non-mulched beds. In addition, water in the soil incurs significantly less evaporation if that soil is covered by something.
			Mulching Disadvantages - Color Retention - The darker color of mulch vs. dirt that most people like is a one season phenomenon. In successive years the mulch needs to be "top dressed" (.5 to 1 inch added). Acidity - Mulch from pine or hemlock is acidic and will leach same into the soil. Such acidity will need to be corrected with lime for non acid loving plants.
			Mulch Types & Costs - Pine Bark - DO NOT use pine bark nuggets or mini-nuggets. These are little more than brown colored rocks and provide few of the pine bark mulch advantages. A bulk cubic yard of mulch costs $40 on MV. The equivalent amount in 3 cu. ft. bags costs $62. (For you off-island folks "in the know" reading this, don't laugh at these prices. We do not have a Home Depot here selling decent mulch for $2/bag and we only have a single source of bulk mulch.) Hemlock - DO NOT use with roses since hemlock has more blackspot in it than anything I have ever seen. Hemlock is better than pine bark for weed retention as it forms a more dense barrier on top of the soil, but most people don't like its very light tan color. Hemlock mulch is available only in bags on MV and is approximately 50% more costly than pine bark mulch similarly sold; Cocoa Shell - Twice the cost of pine bark (although not available in bulk quantities), but has the advantage of retaining its color for multiple seasons.
				Additional Miscellaneous Landscaping Topics Driveways Walkways & Patios Garden Bed Edging Bed Mulching Clean-Ups - Spring & Fall