how important is mulch?

[Tinybu88les8]

I haven't bought mulch for my garden...I was waiting for my seedlings to sprout. Is it that important? I know it protects the roots and what not. I've looked around and have found mulch that has either herbicides in it or is dyed. I need to use redwood IF its necessary to lay mulch. But do I have to?

[cynthia_h]

Take a look at our Compost forum here at THG. Many, many threads discuss potential mulches, none of which are dyed, treated, or in any other way harmful to your plants.

The most important value of mulch in southern California is its water-retention property. Even the high desert and oceanside gardening zones in SoCal have insufficient rain, so making the most of your garden's precious water is vital.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[N2H2o]

there are tons of places here in so cal you can buy mulch in large quantities, much cheaper than a few bags of bark from osh or similar. Mulch is a huge plus to my garden and yard in general.