All You Need to Know About Mulch

While mulch may not be a sexy topic for homeowners, it's an important one that can help make any landscape healthier and more beautiful. A layer of mulch does more than provide a clean and attractive surface. It keeps moisture from evaporating so you don't have to water as often in the summer months. It suppresses weed seeds and blocks the light they need to sprout. It breaks down to enrich the soil. And it insulates, protecting roots from hot spells in the summer and cold snaps in the spring and fall. There are a lot of mulches on the market. You've probably run across licorice root, pine needle or chipped hardwood mulches at the garden center. Ninety-nine percent of mulches available commercially are chipped hardwood. The important thing is to know where it came from. At Northampton, we buy our mulch locally, from a Bucks County business that chips its own from trees it collects from area tree services. We generally recommend triple-ground mulch because it is finer and less "chippy" than double-ground. We have also found that many customers like the triple-ground non-toxic black dyed mulch. Dyed with vegetable-based dyes, the mulch retains color longer, and will probably remain fresh and attractive for an entire summer season.