Tips for Tulsa Lawn Care - Using Mulch

Mulch may not be the first thing you think of when pondering how to enhance your garden, but it’s actually one of the best things you can add. Mulch can help in many ways; It protects plants and their roots from extreme temperatures and helps them absorb and retain water better. Mulch keeps a garden healthier, more resistant to drought and is great for weed control while improving soil quality. Adding mulch to your garden can save much time and energy and help to simplify your other Tulsa lawn care tasks.

But how much do you need and which type of mulch should you add?

There are various types of inorganic and organic mulch. Inorganics, like stone or gravel can be good to use around areas that are likely to get washed out, and black plastic and landscape fabrics are helpful in vegetable gardens to help warm the soil and hold moisture.Organic mulches like cedar bark, wood chips, shredded leaves, hay, compost, and grass clippings will add nutrients to the soil as they decompose.

Organic mulch is often best because in addition to its other benefits it also adds nutrients to the soil. Different types of organic mulch though can be better for specific areas. For instance, fresh organic mulch will be more effective at controlling weeds than aged mulch, but will take longer to decompose, TheFamilyHandyman.com noted. So fresh mulch won’t add nutrients to the soil as fast as aged mulch to help encourage plant growth, but on the other hand, will last longer. Therefore, fresh mulch may work better around trees and shrubs that need more weed control than nutrients in the soil. Like fresh mulch, large pieces of mulch like wood bark will take longer to decompose and thus will last much longer.

Mulch for your flower bed might consist of shredded leaves from your lawn. Grass clippings can add a great deal of nitrogen to your vegetable garden. These organic and free mulches can help make your gardens healthy and beautiful.

How much mulch should you apply?

A deposit of mulch about 4 inches in depth will often be enough to discourage weed growth and help retain moisture although 2-3 inches may be enough in shadier areas. On slopes, more mulch may be needed to help it stay in place, possibly around 6 inches as it may shift around more frequently.

Before you apply mulch to an area, be sure to weed the soil. Keep about a 6 to 12-inch area around woody stems free from mulch as well as about a 1-inch area around the base of plants and vegetables free from mulch to prevent rapid decay.

While organic mulch helps the soil to retain moisture, it can also prevent the soil from warming in the spring. Thus, mulch will need to be pulled away from around perennials in the spring to allow them to better grow.

The Tulsa lawn care specialists at Oklahoma Landscape can take all the hassle out of lawn and garden maintenance with our custom lawn maintenance, weed control and fertilization programs. Call us today for more information!

Tulsa Landscaping Company Offers Spring Gardening Tips

Many Oklahomans love to plant a garden and see their delicious vegetables grow before their eyes. Some may plant right in the ground, while others may use a raised garden bed. Either way, you’ll have fun in your garden and relax while working with nature. Here are a few tips to help your Tulsa garden thrive this year.

Plan and start small. If you are a new gardener, many gardeners say that you may want to start small in how much you plant. In your excitement, you may see a ton of colorful things to buy at the nursery or garden store, but it’s good to be modest in your first garden planting. You may want to use more common warm weather varieties of plants that will likely grow well in Oklahoma like green beans, okra, squash, radish, and melons.

Plan out your garden, possibly even on paper, to decide where plants will get the best sunlight, when you will need to plant each type of seed or plant, if you’ll plant in the ground or in a raised bed, and how big the plants and garden will get when you’re finished. Allow plenty of room to work in the garden and for the plants to extend out as they grow.
Before you plant, it’s good to have all the gardening tools you will need including cages or stakes for climbing plants, string to tie the plants to the cages, tillers, pruners, and other equipment.

Prepare and nourish the soil. You’ll need to remove any weeds, rocks, and grass in the garden and may want to test the pH of the soil to know exactly what nutrients it’s lacking. A few weeks before you plant, you may want to add some compost to the soul to make sure it has enough nutrients to support the plants. Then you can turn the soil when you add the compost and just before you plant to make sure it’s aerated.

Follow directions. There will often be much helpful information on the seed packets or plants about when to plant the seeds, how far apart to space them, and when they should be harvested. The Old Farmer’s Almanac will also have helpful information on when the best time to plant each vegetable. On the Almanac website, you can search for your particular city or state and see the exact planting directions, planting dates, directions for planting by the moon, and estimated frost free date. Along with being tax day, many gardeners will say April 15th is around the frost-free date for much of Oklahoma.

Trim shrubs and trees. Along with planning your garden design and boundaries, you may need to prune any overgrown bushes and trees that may block needed sunlight to your garden. This will also help your overall landscape to have a more polished look for summer.

These are just a few Oklahoma gardening tips for this spring. Talk with the Tulsa landscaping and gardening experts at Oklahoma Landscape for more details on how they can help you have a successful garden this year.