Back when I was a professional gardener, I had clients who insisted on having me lay down landscape fabric then putting bark on top of it to discourage weeds. I hated this practice and tried to talk ...

A few years ago, a gardening friend suggested I place a layer of compost in my flower beds before mulching with my usual shredded bark mulch. As my garden seemed happy and required less care that ...

A rose by any other name may still be a rose, but mulches need defining. There are 17 different materials considered on the University of California’s Statewide Integrated Pest Management website, and ...

Every gardener wants the best soil for their garden. How do you know if your soil is "good"? What do you add to make it good? When you go to a plant nursery or the gardening section of a big box store ...

Amanda Blum is a freelancer who writes about smart home technology, gardening, and food preservation. Previously, Amanda has worked as a technology strategist specializing in problem solving and ...

A layer of wood mulch and compost at highway construction sites can reduce rain runoff and lessen erosion, according to research from the LSU AgCenter. A three-year study, funded by the state ...

It's best to avoid planting seeds directly into mulch. Instead, move the mulch out of the way and plant seeds directly into the soil. "Seeds require contact with the soil, along with moisture and ...