We Tested 5 Mulches All Season—Here’s the Winner

Video Description

A head-to-head garden mulch comparison puts cardboard, pine bark, cypress, black plastic, and bare soil to the test across 175 days, tracking changes in soil temperature, moisture, and weed pressure. The results show differences in performance, including which mulches reduce weeds and a few surprises that shift expectations about which materials actually hold up over time. The results show the best mulch for the garden. Clear standouts emerge and reveal which mulches stay stable, which fall behind, and which ones deliver benefits for vegetable gardens. See the other videos in this experiment: Why to Use and Love Mulch: https://youtu.be/KLkqen-w9oc Laying Landscape Fabric and Black Plastic Weed Barrier in the Garden: https://youtu.be/_h7mmOy717Q Spreading Organic Mulches: https://youtu.be/teBHWh4QYf4 Planting Vegetables in Plastic and Landscape Fabric: https://youtu.be/6ku0F5_CqJM Planting Vegetables in Three Types of Organic Mulch: https://youtu.be/x1j8oVuwRf4 Planting Flowers in Five Kinds of Mulch: https://youtu.be/1nvY3W7bRrQ Pulling Mulch Around Vegetable Seedlings: https://youtu.be/xOVutkuF5r4 Which Mulch Is Best? 6 Week Report: https://youtu.be/zdDj3T93Wlw Which Mulch is Best? 16 Week Report: https://youtu.be/EfQsNF_gBYI 0:00 – Experiment Details 0:22 – Weather Conditions 1:19 – Mulch Review: Black Plastic 1:52 – Mulch Review: Woven Landscape Fabric 2:28 – Mulch Review: Pine Needles 3:11 – Mulch Review: Shredded Wood 3:59 – Mulch Review: Cardboard 4:34 – Bare Ground Comparison 5:30 – Temperature Under Each Mulch 8:19 – Weeding Times for Each Mulch 9:49 – Our Observations about Each Mulch 10:41 – Our Top Mulch Choice 12:15 – Conclusion Subscribe now to Family Plot for more gardening videos like these! https://youtube.com/@FamilyPlotGarden Visit our sister channel for answers to common garden questions: https://www.youtube.com/@GardenQuestionsAnswered For even more information, go to https://www.familyplotgarden.com