Mulching makes gardening much easier

Laura Young ECB Publishing, Inc. By the beginning of May, midday temperatures regularly nudge into the 80s. By month's end, even hotter temps bring new challenges to the home garden. Heat-loving weeds start vying for valuable water resources; and gardeners will sweat away, tending the season's veggies toward a hopefully bountiful harvest. One task, if completed early on, can make handling all of this much easier: mulch. Mulch just happens out there in the woods and open meadows. Leaves fall to coat the ground and grasses die back, their spent blades tilting to form a blanket from which the next year's sprouts emerge. These layers help the soil hold water; they add nutrient-rich organic