The mulch should be at least a half-foot away from the trunk. Next week, when you cut again, spread another one-inch layer. I spread the leaves two or three inches thick, and it's a wonderful mulch that breaks down over the winter months. Soil amendment is a finer material than mulch and is incorporated into the soil to enrich it. Mulch is left on top of the soil as a covering or insulation.
Some mulches do double duty.
Organic compost, redwood soil conditioner, or leaf mold, for instance, become soil amendments when they are tilled into the soil. A sawdust mulch is never worked into the soil, however, because sawdust causes a nitrogen deficiency in the soil. A coarse bark mulch would take three or four years to break down in the soil. The information you receive on-line from Mercury Center is protected by the copyright laws of the United States. The copyright laws prohibit any copying, redistributing, retransmitting, or repurposing of any copyright-protected material.