Hey there, welcome to today's quick Q&A episode. Today we're going to be talking about mulch.

This question came from Ben and this is not the first time I have had this question. In fact,

I get it every single year and I thought this is one that a lot of people would love to know, I'm sure.

So the first question that Ben had in regard to mulch was this.

When should I apply mulch? If I apply on day one, will it inhibit the growth of seedlings or

young plants? That is such a good question. Personally, I apply my mulch around May. And just to give you a

context of when I plant, my average last

frost date is early April. So I'm actually letting my plants grow quite a bit before I add

mulch. Typically, at least six inches, but sometimes I don't get the mulch down until they're

quite a bit bigger than that.

There are a couple things you need to take into consideration when you're trying to decide when to add the mulch. And number one is obviously you would love to add the mulch before weeds

take hold in your garden because it's really hard to keep them contained if they have already taken hold. But on the other

hand, mulch also insulates the soil. So early in the season, I want my soil to get as warm as possible

so my seeds and my seedlings get off to the best start possible. And that's usually why I end up

adding mulch in May, but sometimes I might be able to get it

out in April. Another question that he had, would the mulch inhibit the growth of his plants and seedlings?

As long as you wait until your plants are, like I said, I say about six inches, it probably depends on the

plant. But you don't want to smother your plants and get the mulch too close.

You don't want the mulch to be touching the stem. I usually keep my mulch a few inches away from

the stems of the plants, and you certainly don't want to plant seeds in the mulch. I have made that

mistake, my first year, and that doesn't go well. If you have mulch already in your garden from previous

years like I do, you'll want to rake back the mulch if it hasn't already started to break down into the

...