How to Mulch A Groundcover

New to gardening (less than a year) though I've been an armchair gardener all my life. I am doing really well with sheet mulching (lasagne beds) and then adding mulch on top of that twice a year. Here it is very hot and dry in the summers (annual rainfall averages less than 14" and temperatures often get up to 110) and mulch does seem to help a *lot*. I understand I'm supposed to add 3"-4" in late spring and late fall.

One of the things I planted in my front garden is creeping thyme. One of the three varieties I planted is covering ground fast.

So my question is, how do you mulch a ground cover? Aren't I going to kill it by putting 3"-4" of mulch over it?

nowheat...if that thyme is growing and looking good then leave it alone. It is its own mulch! I wouldn't put anything on it.

It will most likely just need a bit of a drink every so often..the timing will depend on your soil tilth.

Don't that creeping thyme look great!?

Thanks for answering. I guess from the fact that no easy answers came along that it is a pretty knotty problem.

It is lovely (I have three different kinds, including an "elfin" that is barely moving, and a "pink chintz" that's rampant).

My problem is that what passes for "soil" out here is about 2' of sand (over a layer of hard caliche clay) and I am trying to improve it with lots of organic material -- compost and mulch. Everything else in my garden is going to end up 6" higher than the part the thyme is on!

Mercy...sounds like you really need to augment with compost and other amendments, eh? I have orange clay and always need to amend it on a regular basis.

Peat works fairly well, and compost of course but I tend to use the limited supply of compost sparingly, more for nutrition. I also recently got back into raising worms (vermiposting)...you should try that also. You get home-made black gold for your garden!

I also got a worm bn last year with red wrigglers. I kept it under the carport for the summer and fall then brought it inside and kept it in the bsmt over the winter. Wow! the worms break down the scraps better than any composter. I have 2 large composters in the yard but they seem to take forever to break down. The worms rule !!!!
I also have clay soil and its hard to amend. I have 3 hills in my backyard. The last hill is like a small ski slope. I am trying to add shade loving perennials and shrubs to fill in the hillside so it doenst have to be mowed. Its hard to mow without baseball cleats on!! Brutal !! When I dig each hole for the new plants I try to go much larger and add compost into the hole first and top it with compost. Also watering with the alfalfa tea to try to get them off to a solid start. What a challenge!

April, whats a worm bn? Did you mean bin, still never heard of it. I don't want a composter really but the worm thing sounds cool. Thanks.

haha worm bin yes. Its like a blue recycling box, hard plastic with a lid with holes in it.

It's great. Cutting up the scraps very small is a bit of a pain but when you think about how small the worms are, trying to bite something big..........its comical !

If you check on google under "Vermiculture" you will see how the whole process works. Its all balance.

Best of luck with your sand over clay soil. I just have clay with some amended beds. It's brutal to dig the clay. Compost, compost, compost and I saw on a gardening show here that you shouldnt add sand to clay...........they recommend adding in old fashioned, no fuss, no clumping kitty litter. It breaks up the clay apparantly?

I did add several bags in the fall to a newish bed of mine and so far so good.

Best of luck !

We have a lot of clay soil. A couple things you can do is take well-sifted compost and sprinkle over your groundcovers - a little at a time, they'll soon climb (grow) to the new level, then you can add some more, doing this a couple times a year.

You can also try spraying humic acid (available at better nursery centers and through several mailorder places.) it's supposed to improve the soil fertility, but it's a gradual process...I'm going to get some for this fall and see if it plus a thin layer of compost helps improve our backyard soil.

I'll try spreading compost on my groundcovers this fall -- thanks. Thin layers, twice a year ... slow but steady wins the race. :)