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Our knowledgeable staff here at Garden-Ville are available to answer many of the questions you might have about gardens, landscaping, and trees. Many problems with plants, however, cannot be responsibly diagnosed other than in person. We're located in central Texas and may not be familiar with the details of gardening in very different climate or soil zones. One of the guiding principles of organic growing is adapting methods to the particularites of local soil and climate. With that in mind we'll do our best to answer your question, but if we can't we'll be happy to help you find the appropriate resources or professionals in your area.

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  • I live in Central Texas and our back-yard has many oak trees. I have mulched the entire area once a year, but wondering if it is becoming too thick for trees. Can I rake some layers of mulch away, and spread it on my lawn (then run a lawnmower over it)?

    11/23/200811:42:15 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Lawn Questions, Living Mulch, mulch, Tree Questions

    It depends on what you're using to mulch the area and how much you add each year. Optimal mulch depth is 3-4". More than that is only called for to protect trees in extremely high traffic areas (construction sites, for example). If you're using a long lasting mulch such as hardwood you may not need to add it every year, or only add an inch or so. There's be natural compaction, some erosion (depending on the site), and gradual decay of old mulch into the soil. I would recommend using our Living Mulch for annual applications. This is a 50/50 mix of compost and shredded hardwood. The advantage of this product is that the compost will feed the trees, whereas a straight hardwood mulch is nearly all carbon and doesn't provide much in the way of nourishment to the soil.

     

    If you have been using a wood mulch I wouldn't recommend applying it to the lawn as you described. The reason is that there is so little nitrogen in the wood itself that it will actually pull nitrogen out of the soil as it decays, which can be detrimental to the lawn. Compost is a much better option for lawn top dressing--our Alamo Gro is great for this, and this is the right time of year to make the application.

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