Richgro 40L Hard Wood Mulch

Richgro Hard Wood Mulch is a screened and graded hardwood chip for garden beds, pots and landscaped areas. It does the three jobs a mulch is bought for: holding soil moisture, suppressing weeds and evening out soil temperature through summer and winter. One 40 litre bag covers up to 1.5 square metres.

What it does

• Weeds held back. A closed layer limits the light reaching the soil surface, and most weed seed will not get away without it.
• Water kept in the ground. Slowing evaporation off the surface is where mulch saves the most water, and that matters most through a hot dry summer.
• Root temperature evened out. Soil under a mulch layer runs cooler in summer and warmer in winter, so roots sit in a steadier environment year round.
• Consistent chip size. Screening and grading means the chips are even, so the mulch lays down flat and finishes a bed neatly rather than looking like a pile of offcuts.

How to use it

Water the bed first, then spread the mulch evenly over the soil and keep it clear of stems and trunks. Mulching over dry ground locks the dryness in, which is why that order matters.

One 40 litre bag covers up to 1.5 square metres, which works out at a layer roughly 25mm deep. For heavier cover over a weedy bed, allow more than one bag per 1.5 square metres and measure the area before ordering. Hardwood breaks down slowly, so top the layer up as it thins.

What it suits

Landscaped beds and borders. Ornamental planting is where a graded chip earns its price, because the finish is as much of the job as the weed control.

Trees, shrubs and large pots. A ring of mulch out around the canopy protects surface roots and keeps mower damage away from the trunk, and a layer on a pot slows drying in full sun. Bagged mulch is delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95.

Not a soil improver. Hardwood chip belongs on the surface and is slow to break down by design. A bed that needs structure and fertility wants compost dug through it instead.

Related products and reading

• Keeping weeds out of a garden bed
• Waterwise gardening in Australia
• Potting mixes, mulches and fertilisers
• Browse landscaping supplies