The right mulch is good for the soil, protects tree roots and keeps weeds at bay, and one researcher has shown that wood chips are the best, if not the only, type of mulch we should use.

Linda Chalker-Scott, a horticulturalist at Washington State University, spoke at the Waynesboro Tree Workshop on Sept. 12. The workshop is sponsored by Trees Virginia, the state’s Urban Forest Council.

While many folks use cardboard as mulch, Chalker-Scott said cardboard has many downsides, including the forever chemicals used to make it. These chemicals are harmful to all life forms and stick around, well, forever.

Cardboard is also coated, making it difficult for water and air to get through, and it’s a favorite place for termites and rodents to tunnel under.

A good mulch protects life; it doesn’t sm

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