Mulch Then Water Or?

[dan.c.quinn]

I've decided to mulch my coffeed bed with Pebble Bark. Pebble bark is free of the fines and dust found in some other bark mulches. It seems resonable to me I should mulch first; about an inch for starters. Am I correct, mulch first? Dan

[Warren]

One of the purposes of mulch is to cover and shade the ground to retain moisture. It would be more efficient to get the water to the ground before you cover it with mulch than it would be to soak the mulch after placing it.

If the mulch itself is dry, water the mulch after placing it so that it doesn't just wick the water back out of the ground, but you'll still be using less water than if you didn't water the ground in the first place.

[dan.c.quinn]

I'm going with a very thin mulch then water. The bed is in full sun and the weather is staying hot. Besides soil wicks and should do less so with the non-dusty pebble bark. Dan

[Stubby]

Mulch is supposed to be thick enough to cut off light to sprouting weeds so they whither. About 3 inches is needed to do this.