Spring is the time for adding mulch to your garden flower beds. If you are using an organic-based mulch, are you familiar with your source? Mulch should not be piled, in the mulch storage yard, so deep that it can not be frequently turned for aeration. If it is piled high and not turned frequently, toxins, in the form of alcohols may build within the pile.
This is the result of fermentation and anaerobic degradation of the organic materials. The result could be death to your annual plants that you have mulched, as well as damage to adjacent turfgrass. The alcohols and toxins "flash burn" these tender plants, and if annuals, kill them. The burn could severely damage perennial plants.
The effect from the toxins usually disappears following a rain or irrigation, or just evaporation of the alcohols from the area. Can you tell ahead of time if the mulch is toxic? Yes, it stinks! Avoid, at all costs, any mulch that has a very strong odor. Do not confuse this with the normal smell from some mulches, i.e. pine, eucalyptis, etc. Toxic mulch oder permeates the air and just does not smell good.
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