Mulch: the protective blanket of organic material that keeps soil moist, suppresses weed growth, and maintains healthy soil temperatures. Mulches come in a variety of materials and colors, and are available for purchase at garden centers and businesses that sell landscape materials in bulk. Because mulch is so important to soil (and therefore plant) health, it is critical to maintain a thick layer in planting beds throughout the garden in each season. Typically, mulch needs to be replaced once every one to two years, depending on factors like the level of traffic in mulched areas, water runoff, and climate (including wind). The best time to replace mulch is during your yearly application of compost to the soil, which should take place in February before new spring growth emerges for the season. To replace and refresh mulch, follow these general steps:

Walk around your garden, taking a good look at the mulch coverage in your planting beds. If you notice any bare spots, take note of about how large the bald spot is. At the end of your stroll, you should have a good idea of the square footage you'll need to re-cover with a fresh layer. If you don't already know the total square footage covered by mulch in your garden, this is a good time to calculate it. Start by taking approximate measurements of your beds' widths, lengths, and diameters. Check out the measurements below for an example.

Now that you've assessed the situation and taken some necessary measurements, it's time to calculate how much mulch you'll need. Begin by adding up the total square footage of your beds by multiplying their widths by their lengths. You'll need to convert inches to decimals (for example 4 feet 6 inches = 4.5 feet). Then, once you have your total square footage, multiply that integer by the desired depth of mulch in feet. For 1 inch, use the multiplier 0.083. For 2 inches, use the multiplier 0.167. For 3 inches, use the multiplier 0.25. Using the example garden above, this is what this process looks like:

The depth multiplier you'll use depends on how much your mulch has degraded. If you are mulching for the first time, a two or three inch layer of mulch is suggested. For yearly upkeep, one or two inches should suffice.

Now that you've figured out how many cubic feet of mulch you'll need, it's time to find a place to purchase your material. Most garden centers and even some big box stores like Target, Walmart and Costco will sell pre-bagged mulches. Bags are typically either sized in 2 or 3 cubic foot quantities. Regardless of the bag size, you'll need to calculate how many bags you'll need for your space to determine the price you'll pay for material. To do this, divide your calculated cubic footage by the volume of each bag. For example, if the store you visit has mulch in three square foot bags and you've decided to add 2 inches of mulch across the landscape, your equation will look like this:

If a large area of the garden needs to be covered, if you are applying mulch for the first time, or simply if the price is better for the amount of mulch you need, it may be more realistic to purchase your mulch from a bulk supplier. On average, these landscape material suppliers will charge between $25 and $80 per cubic yard of mulch. Most of these places charge by the cubic yard, so your cubic footage will need to be calculated before shopping. There are 27 cubic feet in 1 cubic yard, so the number of cubic feet can either be divided by 27 or multiplied by 0.037037. Using the above example again:

Depending on which type of mulch is purchased, getting this much mulch from a bulk landscape material supplier can run between $50 and $160. Purchasing mulch by the bag from a garden center or other retailer may run between $95 and $150. Although the prices at the bulk seller may be a bit better, the mulch will not be bagged, and therefore will not be as easy to distribute around the yard, and will require a trailer or truck bed to transport. An upside, however is that these places also commonly sell compost, which can be purchased at the same time as mulch to cut down on trips back and forth to the store. A last point about using bulk sellers is that sometimes they will have a minimum purchase amount; to check, simply call ahead. 

If you are applying compost at the same time you are mulching, which is recommended, you'll pull your mulch layer back so that the soil surface is exposed. The compost will then be applied and distributed, and then mulch can be put back on. The old mulch should be mixed with the new before it is added back to the surface. Not all old mulch should be re-used, however. If mulch is diseased or overly moldy, it should be thrown away. Rake mulch to level., and then water it (and the compost) in. And there you have it: a simple way to refresh the health and aesthetic appeal of your garden in a days' work.

Happy Gardening!

Starting From Seed
A great option for working around the cooler temperatures of this time is to begin your vegetable gardening indoors by sowing seeds. There are many advantages to this technique, including:

• Cost savings. Seeds are much more inexpensive than nursery-started vegetable plants.
• Choice from a greater variety of vegetables. Many nurseries only carry certain types of vegetables for transplants, and many of the great heirloom varieties are not sold as plants, only as seeds.
• Flexibility of timing. Growing your own seedlings will allow you to perfectly plan out when your veggie garden can be planted out.
• Pest exclusion. Growing your seedlings indoors will ensure that they are not grazed by local wildlife or develop pest problems early on.

With all of these benefits, starting a vegetable garden from seed can seem like a wonderful idea. However, it is important to also consider cost and have a timeline hammered out before starting. The following pointers should help you to bring your plan together:

This type of soil mix will be great for starting seeds of plants like peppers and tomatoes. For other plants, like squashes and cucumbers, a standard potting soil can be used. Starting with a good soil for your seeds is essential. When seedlings are developing, they use massive amounts of energy, and therefore need great growing conditions to avoid developing growth issues or health problems. 

Container Choices
Seeds can be started in many types of settings, including in plastic or peat containers, in the ground, or in containers with other mature plants. The best growing situation for seedlings, however, is a sterile, controlled environment. Indoors, seeds are best started in seed flats, old food containers (with added drainage holes), or small nursery pots. Whatever container is chosen for starting seeds, it is important to ensure sterility and drainage. Sterilize old, re-used containers with a mixture of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water, and ensure that all containers have adequate drainage holes. To test drainage before planting seeds, fill the container with soil and then water it. Monitor how long it takes most of the water to drain out. If it is more than 10 minutes, more drainage holes should be added.

Seed Germination Heat Mat
This tool is not a necessary one, but will assist your seeds in getting a great head-start. Different species of seeds will have different germination temperature requirements. Some prefer cooler temperatures, others need sustained warmer temperatures (around 95 degrees Fahrenheit at the high end). Using a heat mat can ensure that the ideal temperature range is sustained throughout the seedlings' growth, and take a lot of the guesswork out of navigating seed-sowing.

When to Plant
Figuring out your sowing date (the day you'll plant your seeds for germination) involves counting back from when they'll be put out into the garden soil. In general, vegetables and herbs like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and basil can be started about 4-8 weeks prior and cucumber and squash can be started less than four weeks prior to installing them outside. If temperatures are a bit cooler (or you don't have the assistance of a heat mat), seedlings will take longer to sprout.

Care and Feeding
Once seeds are in their soil beds, keep the soil mixture moist but not wet. A complete liquid fertilizer can be applied to the soil if it is not already nutrient-rich. Mix it at half-strength as soon as the second set of true leaves appear on the seedlings. You'll want to continue to care for your seedlings indoors until they have grown their third or fourth set of true leaves. After these have sprouted, you can transfer your seedling outside (if the last frost of the year has passed). When the time comes, introduce your seedlings to the outdoor environment using a process called 'hardening off', or simply 'hardening'. This involves placing your seedlings in a shaded, outdoor environment for a few hours at a time each day, increasing their outdoor time over a few weeks by an hour every day or every few days. This will ensure that your plants don't get shocked when they are planted outdoors. The transition can be difficult, and many seedlings are lost because they just can't adapt quickly enough. 

​Although it gives plants a great head start to sow them indoors, there are some veggies that will perform well in the chill of February outside. As long as soil is not too cold or too wet (you'll want to choose the driest, sunniest part of your garden for this task), it can be used for planting. A good rule of thumb is to wait until the soil temperature has risen above 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit. The seeds will sprout well under these conditions, and not become waterlogged or mold over. Good choices for crops to start in February out in the garden are:

Before planting, ensure that your soil has been adequately amended with compost or other organic material. It is also a good idea at this time to add some fertilizer to the soil that is rich in nitrogen, just to get things moving along. Plant your seeds at the depth and spacing specified on the seed packet. Then, your job will be to monitor and protect your seeds and seedlings. An outdoor environment is much more harsh than an indoor one, and plants have a harder time reaching maturity. Once seedlings emerge from the soil surface, protect them by covering them with a plastic gallon milk container or similar container with the bottom cut off. This will protect them from pests and other outdoor dangers while they mature. It is also a great idea to mulch the area around the seedlings to protect roots from extreme temperatures, increase soil moisture retention and manage weed growth.

Indoors or outdoors, February is a great month to kick off your vegetable garden to ensure a hefty harvest for the year.

Until next time, 
Kristi.