One of best things you can do for your garden soil is to layer mulch over the bare spots between plants in your planting beds.
Have you ever noticed that Mother Nature doesn't like bare soil? Perhaps you seen how quickly bare patches of soil get covered with weeds.
That's Nature's quick and dirty way of ensuring that soil doesn't blow away or get washed away. But if you're a gardener, you aren't exactly in love with weeds.
You can do your part for the soil and your plants by adding mulch. It's a job that makes other garden chores easier because, as well as making your beds look neat, mulching does a lot of other neat things. It's hard to think of another job that gives so much garden payback.

 

A layer of mulch keeps weeds down, mainly by blocking out light they need to germinate - and if a weed manages to poke through, it's easier to pull it out when rooted in a layer of mulch than in the soil.

Preserves soil moisture by reducing evaporation, and helps prevent erosion caused by rain and wind. Bare soil often gets a crust on it that prevents rain from penetrating easily.
Moderates soil temperatures.

Keeps soil cooler in summer and helps to reduce the risk of damage to plant roots in winter.
Keeps soil from splashing onto leaves, which keeps plants looking neater and helps prevent soil-borne fungal diseases.
As the organic material decomposes, it adds all-important organic matter to the soil and keeps the top layer of soil loose and airy.

GARDEN MULCHING - HOW TO
All you do is just layer the stuff two inches to four inches deep over bare soil around your plants. Just don't put it right on top of perennials, and keep it from direct contact with the bark of trees and shrubs, as excess moisture right up against the bark can cause disease and rot.

When to add mulch: Do your mulching in spring before hot weather comes and while annual and perennial plants are still small enough to work around easily. If you happen to have a few spare one or two gallon nursery containers, put them over top of your plants and then you can shovel the material right onto the bed without worrying about covering your perennials. As for what to use, see your choices below.

Winter mulch: This doesn't actually keep plants warm, but maintains a more even soil temperature - a good thing in areas of the country where winter brings alternating periods of freezing and thawing and where there isn't enough snow cover to give plants a thick insulating blanket. Boughs cut from your Christmas tree make good winter covering, and have the added bonus of trapping insulating snow that might otherwise blow away.