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Louisiana Yards and
Neighborhoods
Maximize Mulch
www.lsuagcenter.com/lyn
What Is Mulch?
Mulch is a layer of material placed on top of the soil.
Its purpose is to:
• Conserve moisture by shading the ground from the
sun and blocking natural evaporation of soil water.
• Retard weed seed germination by blocking light on
the soil.
• Cover difficult-to-mow areas.
• Improve soil as natural mulches break down.
Sources of Mulch
• Bagged or in bulk from retailers
• Utility mulch
– Ask power companies & arborists
• Local agricultural industries
– Bark, bagasse, chicken litter, gin trash,
pecan shells
• Recycled from your own yard
– Pine straw, leaves, grass clippings
Utility Mulch
Improve leaf mulch appearance by
mowing over it to reduce particle size
How to Use It
• Apply a 3- to 4-inch layer around trees,
shrubs and flowers. It will settle to 2-3 inches
deep.
• Pull mulch away from the base of woody
plants.
• Don’t build ‘volcanoes’ around trees, but
spread evenly out to the drip line.
• Check depth twice a year and replenish as it
decomposes.
Don’t Bag It
• Grass roots take up nutrients to
build leaves.
• Return those nutrients to the grass
by using a mulching mower to drop
finely chopped grass blades back
onto the soil.
• Overly long clippings may be used
as garden mulch or composted for
top dressing material.
How Much Do I Need?
• Measure the area to be mulched in sq ft (length X
width).
• Convert the desired depth to feet (ex: 3” ÷ 12” = .25 ft)
• Multiply depth by sq ft of area to be covered (ex: .25 ft
X 100 sq ft = 25 cubic ft.
• Convert to cubic yards by dividing by 27, and you can
order by the truckload (ex: 25 cubic ft ÷ 27 = .926
cubic yards)
• Order .926 (1) cubic yard of mulch to cover 100 sq ft
with 3 inches of mulch.
A Little Advice
• Although shells and stones may look nice,
retain moisture and block weeds, they will
never break down and provide additional
nutrients.
• Cypress mulch might be coming from
endangered wetlands. Don’t buy it unless
you know exactly where it came from.
Questions?
www.lsuagcenter.com
Louisiana Yards and
Neighborhoods
Maximize Mulch
www.lsuagcenter.com/lyn