I Planted A Small Vegetable Garden For The First Time….
Pete Asked
I planted a small vegetable garden for the first time. I would like to know if I could use the mulch I use on my flower beds on my vegetables. It’s a dyed mulch.
The Gardener’s Answer
Hello, Pete: Congratulations on your first vegetable garden! Yes, you can use the same mulch on your vegetable garden as you did in your flower beds. Make sure it is just a thin layer, no thicker than 2 inches. Otherwise it can become a safe haven for insects and other disease problems. Dyed mulch is more for show and it is used only for aesthetic purposes. There is no beneficial reason to use dyed mulch; in fact, it can be more of a nuisance, in my opinion, when it gets wet and the dye color bleeds. Most dyes are made of plant-based products so they would be safe to use in your vegetable garden. It is also fine to switch up the mulch you use in your vegetable garden. There are no rules that say you must be uniform in the garden! I would go for a pine bark mulch or pine straw as opposed to a hardwood mulch that can become very dense and matted. Either way, the idea of mulching is to reduce weeds and help retain soil moisture.
