It's Never Too Late to Mulch

Mulch benefits your garden no matter how early or late you pile it on. It is not too far into this growing season to reduce the time and effort your garden will need.

This is the time of year when many new gardeners are overwhelmed by the gardening experience. If you are one of those gardeners, don't throw in the trowel just yet. Even gardens with lots of weeds can benefit from mulching. Here's how.

Pull the weeds that are within six inches of your plantings. Rake down or cut back the rest of the weeds. Cover the whole bed with a ten-page-thick layer of newspapers, laying them down close to the stems of your plantings. After you make sure there are no gaps in the layer of newspapers, wet it thoroughly. Apply the mulch two to four inches deep without covering any of the leaves your plantings.

Your weeding duties will be reduced to a fraction of what they were.