getting a jump on our yard work

Our mulch is dark brown...unlike any of
the mulches in this photo.

Living further south than most of my family and friends meant getting a jump on our yard work this past weekend. I love being ahead of the game! (Living further south also means we are going to have to deal with cicadas this summer, but let’s not think about that now, eh?) The weather was warm enough to weed and mulch, and weed and mulch we did. My body is killing me - I am so weak, but the yard looks amazing and there were NO bugs, aside from worms in the soil. That was the coolest part. I do not like bugs and weeding this early means you don’t have to deal with them. I also loved that my husband was home and helped out. He is the greatest.

We are using free mulch from our local recycling center on the areas that aren’t touching the house. It is a gamble, but free is a great price and we are willing to do a little experimenting. We are trying to combat the weeds growing back in three different ways; 1. weed and lay an inch or two of mulch down, 2. weed, lay newspaper down, wet it, and lay an inch or two of mulch down, and 3. weed, lay a tarp down for a week to inhibit anything from growing, then lay an inch or two of mulch down. I shall report back on our progress. Hopefully they all work great and we don't have to weed again until next year!