Question

Landscape   QUESTION: I live in Alpine, California and we have gophers so a lot of plants I have had to put in hard wire cloth to protect them. The dirt is level with the sidewalk.  I've been told that I need to put atleast 3 inches of mulch on the ground.  Do I need to take some of the dirt out?  And if I have already planted plants can you still lay down lawn fabric?  I have attached a photo of the front yard where I have been planting.


Thanks for your help.

Nancy

ANSWER: Hey, Nancy.

Why do you "need to put at least three inches of mulch on the ground"?

I can tell you from experience that it won't have any effect on the gophers.

However, mulch will help control erosion, weeds, soil moisture, and soil temperature, and I just think it makes the landscape look better all around.

If the soil is already level with the sidewalk, taking some soil out would keep everything level, but you could also line the side of the walkways with rocks, wood, pots, pine cones, etc., and then place the mulch behind that.

Putting down lawn fabric after having planted plants is actually the best way to do it, but people usually put down the fabric first and then cut holes in it wherever they want to put plants since that way is less labor-intensive.

Hope that helps.

Nice house. I love Alpine and hope to move there when I retire.

Russel

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Russel,

Thank you for your help and Alpine is great we just bought this home last year.  What mulch do you recommend and should I do just enough to cover the ground? How thick should the lawn fabric be?  On the side of the house we have a picket fence and that is where our Toy Fox Terriers hang out.  I read one of your response about a larger size mulch so I will do that there, but in the front I can go smaller. This is all new to me and I am really clueless about mulch and lawn fabric.

Thanks for all help.

Nancy

Answer
Hey, Nancy.

Home Depot sells some excellent mulch in all sizes. It's by EarthGro. It's all I use here in San Diego. You'll have best success with it if you cover the ground with at least an inch, and since we don't get much rain here, the thickness of the lawn fabric won't make any difference for your purposes, so I would buy the least expensive. And yes, with your toy fox terriers running around, use the large EarthGro mulch for them.

Hope that helps.

Russel