Three highly rated San Antonio-area landscapers talk about how mulch and topsoil can benefit your landscape projects, both large- and small-scale.
Soak up advice from these three highly rated San Antonio providers on how mulch and topsoil can benefit your landscape.
Who we spoke to:
Bill’s Lawn MaintenanceBill Wojtczak, ownerSan Antonio
The Greenhouse Landscaping & Lawn Care ServiceAdolph Marroquin, manager/ownerSan Antonio
Deep Roots LandscapeChris Gaskill, ownerNew Braunfels
What types of mulch and topsoil services do your company offer?
Bill Wojtczak: We provide both mulch and topsoil. They are basic services. You can get cedar to Texas hardwood mulch to dyed red and black. I use organic products. We also offer aerating.
Adolph Marroquin: We do mulch and topsoil, aerating, composting, fertilization and weed watch. I usually recommend soil with peat moss, sand and a mixture of soil to help keep the ground moist.
Chris Gaskill: We use garden soil that’s blended with the right amounts of topsoil, compost and green and orange sands on newly installed lawns and for new raised beds. Mulches vary in color and size, and using any kind of mulch is beneficial.
What is the cost for mulch and topsoil at an average home?
Wojtczak: Cedar mulch is $20 to $45 for one cubic yard and $60 to $80 installed. Topsoil compost is $30 to $40 per cubic yard.
Marroquin: It depends on the size of the yard. Mulch can cost $225 up to $2,000. Red and black is more expensive. I look at the property and tell them how much they need. A 50- by 120-foot yard is average.
Gaskill: An average home may need between two to four yards cubic yards of mulch. Mulch and good garden soil sell for about $35 a cubic yard, which covers around 75 square feet. Installed and delivered, it is $75 to 90 per cubic yard.
What benefits can homeowners see from purchasing mulch and topsoil?
Wojtczak: Mulch improves curb appeal. People like the nice, clean look, and it helps retain moisture for your plants.
Marroquin: Mulch holds in water in and keeps plants warm in the winter. I recommend you mulch two times a year, even if it’s just a light mulching.
Gaskill: Good soil is fertile, and plants will require less water. Fertile soils also keep the weeds away. Soil with higher fungi levels will have fewer weeds.
What can homeowners do to improve their landscape?
Wojtczak: Homeowners should use compost. It acts as a fertilizer supplement that tightens up the root structure to block out weeds.
Marroquin: In San Antonio, people tend to throw mulch over weed barrier. You stop the purpose of the mulch. Weed barriers prevent the mulch from breaking down like it’s supposed to into a compost.
Gaskill: Composting is the best thing you can do for your landscape year after year. Without composting your beds, grass and vegetable garden, you’re starving it of something it needs as much as water.
