Why Mulch Matters

Mulch is an asset to any landscape, vegetable garden or flower bed. Not only does a fresh spread of mulch instantly make your landscape pop, but it has many beneficial qualities as well!

Whether you are looking into dyed or natural, mulch should always be considered first when looking to freshen up your yard come spring.

What are the benefits of using mulch?

One of the most overlooked benefits that mulch offers your garden beds is protection from the elements. Think of mulch as a 2”-4” insulated blanket for your flower beds. A nice layer of mulch can go a long way in helping maintain a steady temperature for your plants’ roots during extremes. During the high heat of summer, mulch will keep your plants roots cooler and in the colder weather, it will help keep them warmer.

Along with temperature control, mulch also aids in water retention. The mulch will protect your beds from the scorching sun as well as windy winter days by slowing the evaporation process down.

Weed control is another great benefit of mulching your landscape! Applying mulch over a weed barrier like cardboard or landscaping fabric (at Devitt’s we carry SRW SB2 which has a 10 year lifespan) will help cut back on the amount of unsightly weeds you need to manage come spring.

Mulch is highly recommended as a stabilization method as it lessens the impact rain has on your soil base. When used in combination with established root systems, mulch will help cut back on any erosion you may experience. 

Natural mulch vs. dyed mulch

We have eight types of mulch at Devitt’s, but don’t let that number overwhelm you. Let’s break it down into two categories, dyed and natural mulch.

Dyed Mulch

This option is very popular as it comes in three vivid colors: red, brown, and black. Dyed mulch has all the benefits of natural mulch, but the dye will eventually fade so it is best to replace it in the spring by adding a top layer of freshly dyed mulch.

The chemicals used in the dye for these options (although not toxic and food grade) will eventually break down and take nitrogen from your soil, so it is a great idea to get on a fertilizer schedule for your beds when using dyed mulch. Rest assured, we have all the amendments you will need to keep your beds happy, healthy, and prolific!

If you are looking for mulch that will break down and give nutrients back to your garden beds, we would recommend looking into natural mulches.

We have many natural mulches to choose from and some have additional benefits that we will go over.

Sweet Peet

Highly recommended for flower beds as well as vegetable gardens. This mulch is dark brown in color and is amended with horse manure. As Sweet Peet breaks down, it turns into humus. Humus is the final product of plant matter decomposition and because it is rich in nutrients, humus can be extremely valuable to your flower or vegetable beds.

Cedar Mulch

Cedar Mulch has a very attractive natural red color and is one of our longer lasting mulches. Cedar mulch can last a few growing seasons as it decomposes much slower than our other mulches. 

Cedar is also a great way to deter bugs in your garden as it is a natural insect repellent. Think of it much like you would a cedar chest, the natural oils help keep unwanted pests away and it smells great to boot!

We also carry Dark Spruce is a blend of pine and hardwood and is dark brown in color.  Light hardwood is a great color option for a dark home as it is exactly what the name implies, light in color. Our last option is Landscapers Mulch which is made from double hammered tree chips, is a great and affordable option for any landscape. These three options decompose nicely back into the soil and their colors will not fade as they are natural in color and offer all the benefits we talked about in the beginning of this blog.

We deliver!

Once you pick out the perfect mulch for your project, you can either stop into our bulk material yard and pick it up by the half yard or full yard in your personal truck or we can set up a delivery for you in person or over the phone.

We have a couple of different sizes of dump trucks in our fleet.

 For smaller projects we can go from a ½ yard all the way to 8 yards of mulch or if you are looking to cover a larger area, we can deliver up to 20 yards.

Stop in or give us a call today! We look forward to hearing from you.