Mulch is a popular feature of any property maintenance and landscaping. Why use it? Simply put, to protect the plants, lock in water and keep it from evaporating, and overall just provide a comfortable home for the vegetation while providing a cultivated aesthetic.

Mulch will give your property a nice consistent and organized look while also being good for the plants. It keeps the soil from evaporating too much water and adds a nice layer of protection that discourages weeds.

Mulch will also eventually break down and help feed the plants. You may already have some on your property or are installing a new property landscape and have yet to do anything. Landscape designers love to use it because it adds a nice, intentionally clean look that also keeps the plants alive.

Touching up mulch happens around once a year. There are also several varieties– you may want to pick the same kind that you had before or try something new. Keep in mind that different types may break down quicker than others.

Remember that if using mulch you will need to estimate how much you need, meaning that you will have to have your landscape design planned out already. You can use a pen and a tape measure along with a calculator and paper to find out. Or you can hire a landscape professional that does it for a living and they will be happy to help you do the math!

Most stores and nurseries will not know how much you need, so you or a professional need to do the math as stores typically sell it in cubic yards. Most beds will require two to three inches of mulch. If you already have one there, you have only two more to go!

If doing yourself, measure the areas that you want to mulch. Measure each’s length and width. Once you have that, multiply together. The result is your square footage. If you have multiple areas, multiply and then add the figures together at the end. A 10 x 20 foot area would be 200 square feet, for instance. If you had four of them to cover, then you require a square footage of 800 feet total.

After that multiply the depth of mulch required by the square footage total of the areas that you’re going to mulch. If you had a square footage totaling 1,000 feet and you want 2 inches of mulch, that would be 1000 x 2, which adds up to 2,000. Divide that by 324 (324 feet equals 1 cubic yard). Then round up to the closest whole number. That way you will know how many cubic yards to buy. In this case, it would be 2,000 divided by 324, which is 6.17.

You could also find a calculator that calculates mulch needed for you online if not working with a professional! Mulch is an important part of any landscape design. It can come in different shades too. Whether for a home or commercial property, it can make any landscape look great.

If that time of year is coming up when you need to refresh the mulch, check it out or discuss it with your designer and see what you think!