Starting a vegetable garden can be a rewarding prospect for any homeowner. In addition to having fresh veggies on the ready, digging in the dirt has big health benefits. Though yanking out weeds might ...

Organic mulch keeps soil cool, moist, and weed-free while boosting long-term soil health. Great natural mulches include compost, chopped leaves, pine needles, and straw. A thick 3-inch mulch layer, ...

Why should gardeners mulch their gardens whether it be for vegetables or flowers? Maybe the best answer to that question is with another question. What gardener wants to save time, water, protect ...

If you need to top up the mulch in your garden, you might be faced with the choice between using pine bark or pine straw. Here's what to know about each one.

Learn how thoughtful garden practices can strengthen winter growth by improving soil structure, managing moisture, and making ...

Most people wouldn’t lament the fact that they had run out of partially rotten straw, primarily because they wouldn’t keep the stuff around in the first place. But I do and I did run out, and for me, ...

Over the years, I’ve had many questions from readers about using pine straw as a mulch in the vegetable garden. Is it a good idea? Let’s cover some of the basics. Mulching is a long-established ...

Peter Richards plants vegetables in sheet mulch, and Joellen Dimond plants a container herb garden. This week on The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South, local gardener Peter Richards shows how to ...

With winter around the corner, strawberries, as well as perennial vegetables such as asparagus and rhubarb, can benefit from a protective layer of mulch. While these plants are winter hardy, a good ...

With so many choices available at garden centers, how do you choose the best mulch material for your vegetable garden? Wood chips or pine bark? Or perhaps a synthetic material that will help trap ...