Cheap mulch often looks like a smart way to stretch a gardening budget, but the lowest-priced option sometimes carries the highest hidden cost. Some materials rob soil of nutrients, spread pests, ...

Q: I want to cover a 30-by-100-foot garden in wood chips because it is on a slope, and the soil drains so fast that it has lost a lot of its nutrients. Where can I get free wood chips? — Merle Need, ...

In this week's Ask the Gardener, we also tackle the thorny question of pruning hydrangeas. And if you've got a 'Live Forever' plant, we've got some tips to help that live up to its name. The ...

Discover how Mark from Self Sufficient Me transforms ordinary wood chips into nutrient-rich humus through natural decomposition. Learn the science behind layering, microbial activity, and humification ...

Amanda Blum is a freelancer who writes about smart home technology, gardening, and food preservation. Previously, Amanda has worked as a technology strategist specializing in problem solving and ...

In a recent column, I proposed mulches composed of living plants as an environmentally-friendly alternative for suppressing weeds, enhancing garden plant growth and nurturing the soil. I suspect, ...

Gravel is a popular ground cover option to keep weeds down to a minimum, but there's another alternative that can actually ...

Q: I recently planted two vines in my backyard: a Lady Banks rose and a tangerine crossvine. I got the amended soil at Viragrow and the wood chip mulch at the demonstration orchard as you suggested.