I would map out where you want the gardens and where you want lawn.

For the lawn I would remove the mulch and pile it up if you have a good location for it to decompose further.

Depending on what kind of gardens you're planning (vegetable, ornamental) i would just move aside the mulch and plant into the soil. The mulch should be fine as long as it's not mixed into the soil.

Hopefully others will chime in.

Getting a soil test is always a good idea also.

Thanks for the input. I hadnt thought of the soil test. Def Definitely will

do one.

Assuming there is no plastic separating the mulch from the soil, the soil under the mulch should be amazingly healthy. That does not mean the chemistry is perfect, but the soil microbes should be in very good shape. The soil test will tell you more about the chemistry.

I only found Pasco County in Florida. Is that where you live? If so, then St Augustine is likely going to be your go-to for sod.

Here is a map to your local sod suppliers. Call every one of them to find out what varieties of St Augustine they have and BE SURE to ask how many pallets they sell every day. One of them will stand out, and he will have the lowest prices, too. I would say go with the flow when you find that dealer. What does he sell the most of? That's probably right for your area.

Write back before you buy the sod but after you get the mulch out of the way. There are some pre-install tips you'll need.

Assuming there is no plastic separating the mulch from the soil...

Yes, this is so important. Any sort of weed mat should be removed for a healthy garden. Despite what the advertising says, this stuff hugely reduces both oxygen and water from the soil.

It's baffling you ask what should be done about/with mulch without knowing why it was put there to begin with. Even more baffling is suggestions to remove it without knowing why it's there. But what the heck,I march to a different drummer than the herd anyhow. I fill beds with wood then top it with soil to grow in so I might do the same here or till the chip in and build beds over it. Until you know why it's there I'd recommend not messing with it.

The reason you don't want to rototill through the mulch is that wood will decompose best in a nitrogen rich environment, like air. It will take forever to decompose when you cut off the air supply. Once the decomposing fungi start to grow on the wood, they will "steal" nitrogen from the soil as soon as it becomes available.

You say that you have 3-4 inches of hardwood mulch. Is the mulch hardwood wood chips or hardwood bark.

I would have no problem planting biennial plants directly into either, but if you're talking about planting 3 inch tall vegetable seedlings in 4 inches of either product I see a problem. And if you're gong to plant either vegetable seeds or grass seeds in 4 inches of either type of mulch I think you're going to have a problem. No germination.

Folks use mulch to cut down on weed growth from seeds. A plastic mulch would help plants from sending up shoots from roots in the soil. But either type of mulch will prevent seeds from germinating. And imagine trying to push a lawn mover over 4 inches of either mulch. I think you could be pushing the mower thru the mulch.

So.. a little more info for those who are intersted.. my house was a flip- accor according to google earth photos .. the entire yard was covered in ornamental trees and overrgrown shrubbery. The builders solution, it seems , was to cut everything down and chip it. The result is a yard covered in mulch at various depths.

In that case it is possible, that if you remove the mulch something nice will appear from the old plantings.

If that is the case I think I would remove the mulch in places where I want flower beds, plant the new plants you can afford and see what comes up next spring.

Klem posted " Even more baffling is suggestions to remove it without knowing why it's there. But what the heck,I march to a different drummer than the herd anyhow "

The OP said he wanted to plant a lawn. I think it would be impossible to have a successful lawn on top of several inches of hardwood mulch.

darth-veeder, Klem was probably talking about garden beds, not lawn area.

emcoggins, I feel that for the lawn area, remove the mulch so that you can dig the soil in preparation for seed sowing.