Question From: P. Bieber - ILLINOIS
Q: Nancy, at the end of the season, as you prepare for winter (snow type), is it advisable to fork your mulch and mix it a bit with the soil, or is that disrupting to the microbial activity? Would doing that encourage faster breakdown of some of the larger woody-mulch parts?
A:
Do not mix the mulch with the soil. The decomposition process will chew up the nitrogen in the soil. I put an eight to a half inch layer of compost on the surface of the soil and then layer on an inch or so of shredded leaves followed by mulch. Then let nature take her course. Best And Happy Yardening, Nancy
