Comments on: how mulch works (and how to use it), with bill fonteno

By: Sharon Gresk

Sharon Gresk — Thu, 26 May 2022 20:21:29 +0000

Last fall I shredded my fallen leaves with my mulching lawn mower, catching them in the lawn mower’s grass catcher and then put them in a wire enclosure to use for mulch this spring and summer. However, this spring the “mulch” seemed to me to be too big to use as mulch and the ones on top are dry, while the ones deeper down seem wet and soggy. What am I doing wrong? It seemed like such a good idea last fall! I would so appreciate your take on this.

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 23 May 2022 02:46:57 +0000

In reply to Joanne Leslie.

Agreed. Someone said, “Plants ARE the mulch.” I spent an outrageous amount of money on pine straw this spring. There’s nothing green about trucking that stuff to my town from 200 miles away. My new goal is to cover the ground with more evergreen groundcovers, because I feel like evergreen will keep the soil cool, and provide weed protection. But the dilemma arises because we lose the nutritive value of mulch.

By: Gladys Beaudette

Gladys Beaudette — Mon, 23 May 2022 00:22:37 +0000

I found this column very interesting, but did not notice anything said about leaf mulch. Here in the NE, most horticulturists recommend shredded leaf mulch. What is your opinion on that Margaret? The one year we used it, I actually saw a blue-spotted salamander! Thank you.