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Making Your Bed

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March 25, 2018
Remember when you were a kid, and you used to hate to make your bed every day? In the gardening world, you only have to make your bed once every couple of years, and now is a good time to do it. Of course I’m referring to your landscape bed, and here are some “how-to” tips. Some gardeners like to put a layer of landscape fabric down first, just like a bed sheet. This can be useful for weed control. After the bed sheet, comes the bedspread, so for our purposes, we’re talking about the mulch. Mulches keep the soil cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. They also keep your bed neat and tidy by blocking weed growth. I prefer to use organic mulches, like wood chips, which will break down slowly and help improve the soil. I really like to use shredded bark. This is sometimes called “no-float” as the pieces irregular shapes and tend to lock together. The most common type is cypress, but pine is also available, and both feature natural colors. Mulches are also produced with long lasting color added, typically red, brown and black, and this can create some pop for your landscape bed. Bark mulches should be replenished every year. Shredded rubber mulch gives you the look of shredded wood but doesn’t break down for several years giving you maintenance free mulching. So if you don’t like making your bed, plant a garden. You only have to make your garden bed once every couple of years. I’m horticulturist Gary Bachman and I’ll see you next time on Southern Gardening.

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