Different places I've lived all seem to have a different protocol with mulch. (I have lived and gardened in severe-winter, year-round moderate rain Michigan, mild winter, variable rain Georgia, monsoon Bangladesh (winter dry, summer wet) and Mediterranean California (winter wet, summer dry). Mulch around small seedlings and new transplants in ALL of these climates brought risk of insect damage. Most everywhere, transplants were often ringed with something (tin cans with bottoms and tops cut off, plastic containers likewise, sections of bamboo or banana stalk, etc.) against ground insects, especially when planting into mulch. With direct seeded stuff I would ordinarily draw the mulch away until the plants were well "up" and less likely to be damaged. In some climates mulch is often a problem even for larger plants. I am finding that to be the case here, mostly because I irrigate with
drip irrigation, and if I bury the hoses in mulch, rodents are much more likely to chew through them, and it also becomes a habitat for large numbers of insects. Ducks are the classic
permaculture solution, and they might find a place for you too.....
