Hello!

This will be my first year trying to garden and I have a question about mulching. I know it is important to mulch your soil, but if you are planting seeds directly into the ground when is the proper time to do that? Do I put mulch down right away or wait till after the plants have emerged from the soil?

In my opinion, you'll want to mulch as long before planting as possible. That gives the mulch time to "settle" and also having it already there won't disturb tender vegetation. Just move the mulch aside, plant the seeds and cover the area. The plants will emerge right through the mulch.

Any bare spot in my garden is a haven for weed seeds to germinate. By mulching between crops the weeds are reduced significantly. Plus by mulching early you do give the the mulch a chance to settle and for the worms and other critters and things to start breaking down the mulch and enriching the soil. If you want to plant early you might want to pull back the mulch (might even put down some color of plastic to heat the soil). If you are not in too big a rush just pull back the mulch at planting time.

Thank you drdawg and Seedfork!