Every spring and sometimes fall, you take stock of your landscaping, checking everything from your shrub beds to your hedges to the lawn. As you inspect, you notice that some of your current mulch is worn out, and now you’re wondering what to do with old mulch. Can you reuse old mulch if you add organic matter to it? Can you mix the old mulch in with grass clippings? Can you compost it, or do you have to throw it out?
The answers to those questions (and more) depend on which mulch you’re currently using and what shape it’s in. Here’s what you need to know.
Can You Reuse Old Mulch?
In general, you can reuse mulch. However, the condition and type of mulch you have influences whether or not you can reuse it and what you can do with the old mulch if you can’t.
Inorganic or durable mulches, like pebbles or shredded rubber, generally don’t break down or decompose. So, in a sense, you’re always reusing inorganic mulch. However, rubber mulch may lose its color over time, which is when you may want to replace it. Stone or gravel mulch may also erode or wear down, but it would take years for that to happen.
Organic mulch, like wood chips, straw, or grass clippings, decomposes, providing valuable nutrients to the soil, which is why some gardens choose organic mulch. However, as it breaks down, you lose other advantages of mulching, like weed control, so you have to re-mulch your beds.
However, you can reuse mulch if it’s in good condition, like being disease-free and large enough to suppress weeds, retain moisture, and protect your plants.
How to Tell If You Can Reuse Old Mulch
Start by inspecting your mulch. Does it still look like mulch, or does it look more like dirt? If it looks like mulch, you can reuse it, but you should replace mulch that looks like soil.
Then, check the mulch for signs of disease, rot, fungus, or anything else that would harm the soil. These are indicators that it’s time to replace the mulch and you can’t reuse it.
How to Reuse Your Old Mulch
If you’ve determined your existing mulch is in good shape and you want to reuse it, start by pushing the old mulch to the side. Alternatively, remove old mulch and place it in a bag while you work. Prepare the bed as usual, then put the mulch back.
Sometimes, what you can reuse isn’t enough to protect plant roots and stop weeds from invading, so you need more mulch. In that case, you can add a fresh layer of new mulch on top of the old mulch or mix them together.
What to Do With Old Mulch When You Can’t Reuse It
Diseased mulch must be discarded instead of reused, and you can’t add it to your compost heap. “Good” mulch can be recycled. Smaller pieces of organic mulch can be worked into the garden soil or flower beds, while larger pieces can go in the compost pile.
Give Old Mulch New Life
Using last year’s mulch can reduce how much mulch you have to buy this year, reducing your environmental footprint and saving money. However, organic mulches can’t be reused indefinitely. Even if it stays healthy, organic mulch will break down, requiring a new layer that protects your plants and beds. And when in doubt, remove mulch that may be diseased or infected instead of reusing it.
Dig’Um Dirtworks is your Olympic Peninsula and Port Angeles landscape design partner. We can help you create the landscape you want. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.
