I mulch heavily, but not up against tree trunks. That can cause collar rot, some trees are more susceptible to it than others. The mulch retains moisture, prevents erosion during heavy rain, shields soil from extreme heat, feeds worms and numerous micro-organisms which are needed for healthy soil. It's not a balanced fertiliser so while breaking down it doesn't provide all minerals needed by plants. While fresh it can bind up nitrogen before eventually releasing it. But overall, it's a big plus.

agree with above

but, i would also stress how important organic matter is... i use tons of "chop+drop... all the extra leaves, vines, twigs, grass, fruit peels, coffee grounds and anything else i can use.

i use cardboard or newspaper as a ring around my plants to keep in moisture and keep weeds down... you can use a woody mulch on top of that which has a nice appearance... i generally do this in my front yard, while, in the back, i use leaves, twigs, compost etc... its about a foot deep in many areas, but i make sure to have 3 inches or so clear around the trunk.

in my backyard i had used newspaper and cardboard with a little grass clippings and coffee grounds UNDERNEATH. then, leaves on top.

the next year i had to add more newspaper , grounds, grass and leaves.

since then, i have enough chop+drop leaves and twigs to keep 6in to a foot of mulch.

i get about 100lb of grounds from starbucks every week.

this attracted worms like crazy. and i have built several inches of soil.

the top layer of soil is almost black, soft, moist, and full of worms and other bugs.

all those bugs eat and poop.... that waste stream (including dead insects) is excellent fertilizer, and keeps the soil loose and aerated.

its basically composting-in-place.

i started with sand... plain sand... the house was built on it.

if you start with poor soil, you may need to use a small amount of fertilizer to start, but i kept mine as organic as i could... kelp, fish emulsion etc... until the soil is right.

no one fertilizes the forest, and it does quite well.

Ooooh, so beautiful! And thank you for those tips! We're so new at doing this, and just are starting to catch on about the fertilizing part of the equation. We have had three truck loads of mulch delivered, so far. It is breaking down, slowly in piles behind our shed, but we have spread some of it out on the yard. For now, we are still using our annual garden beds, but they are going to be disassembled in the springtime and trees will be planted in the locations. Tree Collards, Mulberry, (white and everbearing), and a few other trees. Still working on that Starfruit, which has some leaf buds just emerging in the mini-greehhouse jars. Hoping they will root. We have some banana plants starting in pots, too, and a couple of dragon fruit. I have a couple of Mexican Sunflower plants that I hope will grow and I can take cuttings to do chop and drop with those. According to Pete Kanaris, (Green Dreams Florida on Youtube), using the Mexican Sunflower is one of the best plants for chop and drop. I will have to check with our local Starbucks and see if we can get some coffee grounds. Do you use the grounds on all the plants? Or do you put in the compost pile? We have a compost pile and an indoor worm bin....just started 6 weeks ago. They are fun to watch, and I hear make some great vermicompost! Blessings! Happy New Year!