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Reading Time: 3 minutesIt’s that time of year again: the yard needs tending to weekly. But, if you want to create a low-maintenance yard — as in no weed pulling or trimming hedges — it’s also a great time of year to stock up on mulch to reduce your yardwork workload.
Technically, mulch is material that you can spread over soil to be used as a covering. So that means it can be used to decorate, suppress weeds or help improve the soil for gardening. There’s both organic and inorganic mulch— think of organic mulch like pine straw and wood. Inorganic mulch can be plastic (yup, you read that right) and in many cases can last longer. Most types of mulches can also help plants and yards retain water better, so using mulch could also help you save on your water bill.
Low-Cost Mulch Creates Easy Impressive Landscaping
Seriously. With less than $20, which can score you up to 10 bags of mulch on sale (not including tax), placing some cedar mulch around trees and the base of your shrubbery (with a few inches from trunks to prevent disease), can make anyone’s front yard look so much nicer. In addition to being a cost-effective way to clean up and dress up your front yard, wood mulch, and especially plastic mulches, are a good way to keep weeds under control and, thereby, also reduce your workload in the yard.
How to Get the Best Deals on Mulch
Lowe’s often has brands on sale as low as $2 per bag and cheaper if you can score discounted bags the store can’t sell because the bag is open. Right now through April 21st, Lowe’s has Premium Hardwood Mulch on sale for $2 (in-store only and where available). Wherever you get your mulch from, you want to do a little research in advance to better understand the various uses of the different types of mulch materials and which is best suited for your landscaping goals or project.
Wood Mulch Offers the Best Value
Basically, if you’re looking for mulch that goes around shrubs, trees or areas where you’re not interested in doing a lot of digging, consider wood bark. There are a few colors to choose from; for example, Lowe’s current sale is on dark brown, red or black hardwood mulch. This type of mulch will likely only last a season or two, so you will need to replace it. With prices for a single bag starting at just $2 per bag right now for spring, using mulch in your landscaping is still budget-friendly even when using many bags.
While Home Depot doesn’t have mulch on sale currently, we’ve seen it for as low as $1.98. Unfortunately, it’s back up to the full price of $3.33; however, Home Depot offers a helpful (and detailed) online guide “How to Mulch Your Yard” which outlines many of the additional benefits and uses for mulch, plus tools and tips on calculating how much mulch you need and easy project ideas to inspire. For example, there’s also plastic mulch, which helps to prevent weeds better than wood mulch, but it can get really hot in the summer. If you’re not concerned about spending more money, you can also use stone or gravel in place of mulch. It may cost more, but it will last much longer.
Using Mulch for Gardening
The good news is that mulch for gardens can be free. You can use shredded leaves, compost and even grass clippings. The idea is that you want to use something that can help you retain moisture, suppress weeds and improve the soil quality.
Otherwise, you can buy straw, hay or composted manure at your local nursery. These options are pretty affordable and can lead to good quality produce.
It really doesn’t matter whether you’re grabbing your yard mulch from Lowe’s, Home Depot or your local nursery. Regardless of brand or where it’s from, using mulch is one of the best and most inexpensive ways to make your yard look good with the least amount of effort. Next time you see mulch on sale at your local home store, make sure to stock up since the uses are many, and the cost can be so little.
Read Next:
11 Ways to Save at Lowe’s, Including The Savings Secret Every Lowe’s Employee Knows
Sarah Li Cain
Sarah Li Cain is a finance and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in places like Bankrate, Business Insider, Redbook, Endless Vacation, LendingTree and Financial Planning Association. She's also the host of Beyond The Dollar, where she and her guests have deep and honest conversations on how money affects your well being. As a lifelong traveler who has lived in five countries so far, she's obsessed with finding the best deals all over the world. She likes to garden, practice yoga, and hang out with her family in her spare time.