I was taught that when mulching ornamentals, the mulch should not touch the stems as this might cause rotting. But watching Monty Don mulching his asparagus after cutting down, it looked as if he covered the whole lot. What do you do?
i'm assuming that's if you've got fresh manure as the heat produced while it's breaking down can scorch it. if your manure is well rotted, it shouldn't matter.
A lot depends on what you use and in what quantity. Thoroughly rotted stuff won't make anything rot; it's the large quantities of bacteria in actively rotting stuff that do that. A couple of inches of grass mulch won't do any harm either, but several inches of stodge can be lethal. I sometimes use it to get rid of established weeds, though it won't kill the really nasty ones.
What about leafmould?
It's rotted, so whack it on freely!
Great soil conditioner, but not a nourishing mulch
You can use fallen leaves straight away for mulch, but better to let them rot into leafmould first - they can blow away if dry, or blow over tender plants, or if wet can 'waterproof' the ground to a small extent and not let the rain through :)
Thanks, everyone.