List of The Best Garden Mulch Worth Buying in 2023

Mulch is any material that is used to cover the soil, either for a specific function or simply to decorate a garden area. Mulch can be made of a number of materials, but they all serve the same purpose: to improve soil conditions. Mulch helps retain moisture, regulate temperature, and keep weeds at bay. It can also disintegrate and contribute critical nutrients to the soil, depending on the material.

At Garden Products, our team of experts will give you the best recommendations for the product you are looking for. Learn about types of mulch and some important factors you need considering when buying garden mulch in this article. We help you to choose the best garden mulch for your needs and budget.

Elissa Sanci
Sep 21, 2023 8:34 AM

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Top Picks

Best Overall: Greendale Landscape Weed Barrier Fabric

Best Biodergradable: FibreDust Coco Mulch

Best For Decorating: Rubberific Rubber Mulch

Best For Potting: Four Winds Trading Natural Cedar Shavings

Best For Grass and Seeds: EZ-Straw Seeding Mulch with Tack

Best For Flower Beds: ECOgardener Landscape Fabric

Best for Landscaping: NuScape Rubber Mulch Nuggets

Types of Product

Mulch is divided into two main types: organic and inorganic.

Organic mulch involves anything made from a natural substance that will decompose over time, such as wood, paper, straw, grass clippings, or compost. When you include any of these into the soil, they will degrade and increase soil fertility, aeration, structure, and drainage. Although organic mulches must be maintained on a regular basis, most landscape professionals prefer them because of the numerous benefits they provide to the soil.
Inorganic mulch consists of synthetic materials, such as rubber pellets or plastic weed sheets. This sort of mulch is more expensive, but it lasts a long time and looks fantastic in your garden. It doesn't degrade over time, either. Depending on why you're placing mulch, this can be a pro or a con. Inorganic mulches are great for weed control and decoration.

Buying Guides

Timing

Whether the optimal time to mulch is either before or after you plant anything in your garden beds relies on the sort of mulch you're using. If you're using landscape fabric as a base layer for your bed, you'll need to lay it down first. While with wood chips, you can place them before or after you plant.

Mulch can be added at any time during the growing season. If you're using organic mulch, you might need to touch up a few spots around. Apply mulch at planting time (to save water around the young plant's roots) or before night to protect sensitive plant roots and tree seedlings from sudden freezes and thaws in variable temperatures.

Texture

The texture of mulch varies based on the type of mulch you use. The way you want your landscaping beds to look is all about texture. It can also influence how easy it is to walk in a certain area, as well as how easily water and air access healthy plants via the mulch layer.

Nutrients

Though inorganic mulch has little impact on soil nutrients, some organic mulches can help your soil become more nutrient-dense. However, because the effect is minor, you should continue to use fertilizer on a regular basis. Although compost is the best mulch for enhancing soil nutrients, it isn't the most appealing or cohesive solution for landscaping beds. Applying an organic mulch atop compost that has been mixed into the soil, on the other hand, can feed the soil over time.

Weed Prevention

A clump of weeds can soon overwhelm your healthy, lovely plants in a huge landscaping bed, ruining your tidy-looking landscape. Thankfully, mulch can address weeds. Some mulches are superior at keeping weeds at bay. Weeds are practically suffocated by landscaping fabric and plastic mulch. However, they can suffocate the plants in the bed too. When applying cloth in growing regions, make sure to make a large opening around the plant's roots.

Organic mulches such as wood chips and straw will kill weeds in a similar but less intensive way. To avoid weed growth, be cautious while using organic mulches. Mulch should not be piled too close to your plants, and too much mulch might suffocate and damage your plants' roots. A covering of a few inches of mulch is ideal.

Longevity

Because organic mulches gradually disintegrate, they won't endure longer than a few years. Stone mulch lasts the longest, but there are some disadvantages when using it. Landscape cloth (ideal for developing weed-free beds), plastic mulch (suitable for moisture and heat retention for heat-loving plants), and rubber mulch are all durable possibilities.

Pet Safety

Not all mulches are suitable for pets. Cocoa shell mulch is toxic to dogs because it contains caffeine and theobromine, two substances that can induce vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, and seizures in dogs. If you have a pet, opt for a pet-safe natural alternative.

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Types of Product

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Texture

Nutrients

Weed Prevention

Longevity

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