Help with Mulch and general landscaping?

Question

The perimeter of my house is enclosed by a mulch bed with a few plants. However, I would suspect the mulch was placed in 2001 when the house was built and therefor is need of an overhaul.

Right now the entire area is covered in weeds (mainly those prickly tall ones) and maybe 5% of the mulch is left, instead it is just dried out dirt.

So I am going to re-mulch, but I want to make sure that I minimize the occurrence of weeds after I am done AND be able to plant additional bushes/shrubs later this month in the newly mulched area.

My plan was to pull out all the weeds then bury the ground in Preen, after that bury it in mulch. Is it that simple, or do I need to do anything else?

Thanks in advance for advice, I live in Ohio by the way.

I planned to mark where I will plant bushes/shrubs later and just mulch around these areas, then come back through with more mulch once I am done planting.

Also I didn't plan to lay a layer of topsoil down, I figured that would only increase weed activity. The scorched dried out dirt that is the base now seems to block most weeds except the prickly ones.

Answer 1

Always take out the weed roots, which for some perennial weeds can be quite deep. Other weeds form really spreading root systems, and often any remaining part will just keep spreading and will cause trouble again.

I'm not sure how long it will take you to clear your whole bed, but if you plant your new shrubs etc, before laying your mulch, you'll be able to really prepare your planting hole for them, as deeply and as well as it needs to be done for optimum growth.

There will be tons of weed seeds laying around waiting to sprout, and you may need to hoe any up that germinate before you put your cover and mulch down too. I've seen too many rushed jobs, where minimal preparation has been made, that have then become badly reinfested again. It's a more costly job to have to rip stuff up and start again, so I really recommend that you plan and do as thorough a job as you can.

This will also prevent top soil being dug up, to plant your bushes, if you've already laid your mulch down too, where top soil (including weed seeds) then remains and sits on top of your mulch - soon you get some new weeds taking root too.

Hope these basic foundation ideas help. Good luck! Rob

Answer 2

A good layer of mulch is dual purpose. It retains the moisture in the soil, while acting as a deterrent to weeds.

It does decompose, aiding in maintaining healthy soil.

I would plant the bushes, plants, etc. before mulching. It will just be easier to do. Preen is a good idea. After awhile, you'll see the benefits of a good layer of mulch...less weeds, the ones that do sprout will pull out very easily, and it looks great.

Round-up can be touchy, it may remain in the soil and kill things that you may plant later. The type of mulch we use in the North (I'm in NY) doesn't really matter. I've gotten wood chips from the town highway department's chipping of X-mas trees. It did the job. However, for areas that are on view...the front of your home, pick what looks good!

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Answer 3

your in ohio, do you get a decent amount of rain there? if you do i would seriously consider doing most of the area in rock beds and mulch in the areas you want to plant only, boarders can keep them separated. this way every few years when you have to replace mulch you are not doing the entire area(less expense for you) a heavy duty plastic is an excellent weed barrier for under your rocks as well as mulched areas just be sure to cut a large hole in the plastic for your plants to get water from. the only downfall plastic gives in rocks and mulch slide on sloped ground and end up in piles small retaining walls (1 or 2 blocks high) placed 5 to 10 feet apart will keep mulch or rock from sliding around to much on you. good luck with your yard mate !

Answer 4

Sounds good if your weeds are annuals. If they are perennials when pulling them only breaks the roots which in turn make more weeds. Preen only works on weeds from seeds. If your weeds are perennial, you'll have to use Roundup first, wait until the perennials die, and then proceed. As said above, at least 3 inches deep on the mulch! At least.........

Answer 5

I would spray the weeds with round-up or something simular. I just put preen down in a bed and every weed came back in about 10 days. I was really dissapointed as I expected it to work.

Answer 6

MAKE SURE YOU USE CYPRESS MULCH AND PUT IT DOWN IN AT LEAST 3 INCHES DEEP TO PREVENT WEEDS

Answer 7

are you going to have any topsoil with it mulch alone is not enough