We all love the look of a freshly mulched garden bed or tree well. Besides looking great, there are quite a few other benefits to mulch. Mulch can suppress weeds by blocking the light that some ...

Garden beds require a few components: compost-rich soil; soil that is warm enough; and moisture to keep plant roots hydrated. You can create those conditions without outside work by building a ...

I have an area that is difficult to mow around so I decided to turn it into a mulched bed to make mowing easier. I used the hose to outline the edge I want. It will be a nice rounded bed that will ...

It’s time to get out of your bed and jump into a raised garden bed. ... It’s basically a small hill made from decaying wood, branches and plants, as well as compost and soil.

I mulch my vegetable beds with a thick (6-inch) layer of leaves or well-broken-down compost. I put a blanket of oak leaves on my fallow vegetable beds in the fall.

One other reason we mulch our beds is that it is sometimes the best way to improve the soil. If you have the luxury of starting a new bed from scratch — no plants to work around — it’s easy.

Originally published as “How to Make Instant No-dig Garden Beds” in the June/July 2008 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS magazine and regularly vetted for accuracy.

Mulch tree and shrub beds. Avoid creating volcanoes–steeply mounding soil or mulch around plant material. The unsightly appearance detracts from your landscape and promotes rodent and insect ...