How to Weed and Edge a Mulch Bed

Weeding and Edging are as special to a mulched flower bed as the mulch itself.  Before ordering you should do both practices’.

Weeding consists of grabbing weeds or undesirable plants and pulling out both visible portions above ground and the root system below ground. We recommend using gloves and a kneeling pad to keep you comfy. You may need a weeding tool to disturb the soil around larger roots to make them pull out easier. if you happen to pop the top off the root system, you must continue to take out the roots. leaving roots provides the ability to regrow above soil level in the future.

Edging consists of taking preferably a sharp, straight edged and heavy weighted shovel and piercing the ground along the rim of garden beds. this is done to contain future installed mulch within the garden bed during wash out, wind events, etc. Your object is to dig a shallow 3-4″ trench all along the bed, in a nice conforming curve.  You may take the excavated soil materials and break it up, placing it into the beds only if it does not contain weeds or grass. Any soil containing grass/roots can allow them to continue to grow under the mulch if well established.

Please be mindful that when you edge, you open yourself up to the possibility of hitting buried objects such as public utilities, sprinkler lines, low voltage lighting, invisible dog fencing, etc. All public utilities should be well below the standard 3″-4″ bed edging if installed correctly.  We regularly see bad installs of invisible dog fencing wire, low voltage lighting, sprinkler systems and cable internet. If you have these pre-marked by the corresponding company, you can avoid them.  Most are avoidable problems if everyone did their job to code. Invisible dog fencing and low voltage landscape lighting is almost always within 1-4 inches below surface. Sprinklers should be 8″+ below, but rarely are. These are items that JULIE cannot mark for. You must call your corresponding contractor and pay them to mark the service.

Taking the time to property mulch and weed a bed is a time investment. Once established and maintained for a few seasons the weed pressure becomes a lot less. cleanup edging becomes mulch easier as well! Not only does weeding and edging provide function, but it also one of the best ways to make your yard have great curb appeal!