All about mulching with MASA Seed Foundation

Tyler Ellison with Masa Seed Foundation brings us practical gardening tips for the Front Range. In this segment: mulching.

“We all have a little bit of knowledge about mulching, but today we’re talking about function, appearance, and longevity. A couple of different types of mulching out there.

First, we’ve got tree bark. This is probably the most classic, long-lasting, and used mostly for landscapes, trees, and shrubs. Some people like to use it in the garden, but I’ve got better mulch for you for the garden.

That one, chopped leaves. Chopped leaves are a great way of soil building in your annual gardening plants. This way, at the end of the season, you just till it up. Boom, extra compost. Another one for great annual garden beds, straw. Not hay. Hay’s got that grass seed in it, and you definitely don’t want that.

Straw bales are going to be exactly what you need. Our friends down there at Munson, they’ve got great straw bales. Go check them out. Again, at the end of the season, these straw bales are going to be able to just ground up into the soil. Best thing about them straw bales, they put a really great weed mat down. Keeps you protected against those weeds.

Moving on, alfalfa. Alfalfa is a great way of adding extra nutrients to your annual planting beds. It’s another really great way to build soil and build compost. Lastly, we’ve got pea gravel. This one, again, is maybe not as good for your annual plants, but definitely good for your landscapes and around trees.

It’s going to provide great drainage. Excellent for the xeriscapes and folks out there that don’t have the grass.

I hope these couple of tips for your mulching needs are going to make sure that you put that mulch in the right place, function exactly the way you want it to, and last just the right amount of time. Happy gardening out there, folks.”