What is the difference between compost and mulch?
A. Compost should be worked into the soil (eventually, at least) to make it more fertile. Mulch, by contrast, is spread atop the soil, both to protect the soil from the elements and to suppress weeds. While it is true that organic mulches will eventually decompose, thereby themselves becoming compost, their function as long as they serve as mulch is distinct from the function of compost.
