What's the best way to dig mulch into my garden?

Mulching your garden is possibly the single most important gardening activity. Not only does it keep your garden looking great, it also controls weed growth and retains moisture in your soil for plants to use.

The best mulches do even more than this. They incorporate organic matter into the soil to improve its structure, its fertility and its ability to hold water. Not all mulches do this. For example, gravels, bark and wood chips look great but they don't break down to provide nutrients.

Mulches like Debco Mulch'n'Feed, by contrast, really benefit your soil and, with on-going use, continue to do so over the years.

It is important to dig in your mulch and to prepare your ground to absorb rainfall as it becomes available. In the time prior to your seasonal rainfall, it is important to open up the soil to allow water penetration, so that the ground can become a reservoir for summer growth.

Divide perennial plants that need to be divided at this time. Prune your shrubs and roses and generally tidy the garden, removing any weeds that may be present. Take care that you don't remove any tiny seedlings, like Hellebores, that offer so much to your garden's natural appearance. Now lightly fork over the ground, loosening areas of compacted soil and incorporating any mulch that remains on the soil surface.

You will notice that most of your organic mulch will probably have been incorporated into the soil surface by the worms and other organisms in the garden anyway.

Now apply a wetting agent to encourage water penetration. Debco SaturAid is very convenient. Shake it onto the soil surface at an approximate rate of 40-60 grams per square metre. By using SaturAid you can be sure that rainfall will penetrate the soil to the benefit of your plants.

I would leave the soil open for a while and only mulch as the weather begins to warm up, when water loss from the soil increases. Then apply Debco Mulch'n'Feed as a layer approximately 75mm deep over your garden. Mulch'n'Feed contains both SaturAid and Debcote Slow Release Fertiliser so it offers on-going benefits to your garden, protecting the soil surface from the effects of evaporation and slowly being incorporated into the soil.

Avoid building up mulch around the base of the trunk of your shrubs and trees. In fact the mulch here could be dished to prevent collar rots.

Treated in this way, your soil can take up vital rainfall to get your garden through dry periods. It will also benefit from the addition of organic matter over the years.