The rainy days of last week have given way to splendid fall weather. The days are still relatively long – with the sun setting around 7 – and there’s no better time than now to work on your landscape. If you’re looking for something to do outside this week, consider one of the simplest and most beneficial gardening tasks: fall mulching.

Here are a few of the benefits of mulching your planting beds and tree rings now:
- It will help suppress winter weeds that pop up in February;
- Mulch adds nutrients to the soil that help feed your landscape plants;
- It helps moderate the soil temperature, promoting earlier spring root growth and preventing frost heaving;
- Mulch stabilizes the soil minimizing erosion; and
- It helps the plants retain water.
If your plants have grown significantly, it may be time to enlarge their planting beds. It’s a good idea for mulch rings to extend to a tree’s drip line. Take a spade and remove turf to enlarge the bed and give your plants more space. This reduces competition from turf for water and nutrients, and it’s a lot easier to keep the grass from coming back this time of year than in the spring.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with questions about fall mulching or any other lawn or garden project. Enjoy the weather!