Your favorite "mulch" product is ??
Submitted by flwrs on Sun, 03/02/2008 - 07:08
Hello, I would like to know what you use as a "mulch" in your garden ?? Right now, in my main beds I just have dirt...I actually like this look the best....I dont like the "cedar" mulches to be honest...so I thought maybe I could see what others use, and find an alternative.
I did look into the cocoa shells but they can make dogs sick, so that is out.
What do you use in your beds ??
"Compost, because a rind is a terrible thing to waste !"
Eucalyptus Mulch
I saw this at Walmart yesterday. Has anyone ever used it? Supposed to be good to keep away bugs.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Use Pine and Sawdust,.
Hi- Here we(DH) use the pine needles as we have the tree's and also we have Free sawdust, lumber yard close by so we use it too, but It's out close to the Fence not the house,. Good reading also, Thanks all- Happy Easter.!
Susan My hubby does pest
Susan
My hubby does pest control for a living, and goes to classes continually, he is trained as a specialist in termite control.......that is why I quoted him and asked him for advice since someone had asked if the cedar was better....
Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions on the mulch....I would love to find out more about the mushroom mulch...although I wouldnt be able to use it on my yard as I am highly allergic to mushrooms.
I guess if I plant all of my plants really close to each other, it wouldnt matter if I dont have a mulch, right ?? Gee, what a good reason to get MORE plants...tee hee
"Compost, because a rind is a terrible thing to waste !"
my mulch
Ok I called hubby at work,
Ok I called hubby at work, and this is what he told me...
ALL the wood mulches are the same in the world of termites....what happens is this....the wood chips, get nice and moist, and then heat up in the sun, making the BEST place for termites to live...If you want to have wood mulch, he said to have a 1 foot rock border along the house....then put mulch ( but not OVER the rocks)....this is the only way to keep the termites from being attracted to your home ( as far as using the much...they can still come even without mulch)
Using these mulches up against your home will ALSO attrack carpenter ants, which can also do serious damage to your homes.
"Compost, because a rind is a terrible thing to waste !"
Kym, I have a hunch you may
Kym, I have a hunch you may be right -- or your hubby may be.....It stands to reason that, for example, if you have a house that has wood siding on it, that using a mulch that absorbs moisture and all that good kind of stuff that's necessary for it to decompose would serve as a breeding ground for termites......and perhaps other bugs too......
Cedar is great for repelling moths, so people often use cedar balls in their drawers and closets. Cedar is supposed to be a good outdoor wood because it can withstand weather conditions.
I think that using compost as a mulch is probably as good as it gets. If you are lucky and can prevent the weeds and grass that you throw into your compost heap from reseeding and growing, that's great.....Vermicomposting with foodstuffs and worms is great. The compost will breakdown quickly and add all sorts of good stuff to your dirt. If you're dealing with really lousy dirt like I have -- heavy, dense, claylike clay with nothing to improve its ability to retain moisture and lots of rocks inside -- anything you can do to amend the quality is great. My mother has a gardener who somehow gets mushroom mulch....That stuff is great...It really looks wonderful, blends in well with the soil and breaks down quickly.
My own personal experience with the wood chips that were left in the area where my tropical bed is is that they don't break down as fast as one would like.......They don't provide anything that improves water absorbption or drainage and it would appear that they haven't improved the quality of the soil.........
Where I used to live, people would use wood chips as mulch around trees. We later found out that the chips did nothing to help the trees retain water, but rather caused more problems because they do draw bugs.
Personally, my feeling is that when someone uses a mulch, they are using it for a variety of reasons: to protect their beds over the winter, to hold water in over the summer, to add something that will break down and improve the soil......When you think of something you think might be a good mulch product, ask yourself whether it fulfills all of the purposes you'd like to have it fulfill. If it doesn't or can't, then you may not be accomplishing much of anything by using it.
That's my two cents worth and don't ask for change......As my hubby says where he works: "We don't carry any change, sir or madam."
Susan, the Texas Yankee, the Texas Rangerette and the Assistant Administrator
SKBeal's Snazzy Tra
Susan,The Assistant Administrator, the Texas Yankee and the Texas Rangerette.
I use shredded leaves. My
I use shredded leaves. My in-laws bag and deliver them , my hubby shreds them. I haven't noticed that the leaves attracted extra bugs, but then, last year I was trying to attract more beneficials.
AprilConnett
AprilConnett
I will be using alot of
I will be using alot of free mulch as well... A friend down the road has a tree business and has piles of shredded limbs just piled up in his front yard... He said I can have all I want! And as a bonus he will deliver it to me...
Cedar Mulch
grannyrose - Calendar Team Leader - Zone 9 http://www.gardenhere.com/content/Grannyroses-Trades
pine straw for me
I really like to use pine straw. I just add a little bit each year to give my yard the fresh color. But, it decomposes well and keeps things moist for me. I use grass clippings in my compost pile with some lime mixed in. Then, I can mix it with top soil later. I avoid the cedar mulch mainly because of termites, but I think it looks real pretty. I have a layer of that under the pine straw that was there when we bought the house and it has still not decomposed for 3 years now. But, maybe I can try cedar again if I can find it in smaller pieces.
1violetheart trades
I like the Cedar Mulch
grannyrose - Calendar Team Leader - Zone 9 http://www.gardenhere.com/content/Grannyroses-Trades
DeeDee I heard that if
DeeDee
I heard that if you use tree leaves it attracks more bugs to your garden, and it causes some plant leaves to rot....have you had trouble with this before ??? I am a bit concerned because in the fall i asked hubby to blow the leaves into the beds, cause it was good for them....but not so sure it was a good idea now ??
I find when we use the wood chips, that when you go to plant, they get in the way, and then it attracks termites to the house...so I have been trying to decide what to use this summer once I get the plants to their right spots.
"Compost, because a rind is a terrible thing to waste !"
If your mower has the
If your mower has the capacity to mulch leaves, mulching them is great. I did get some wood chips for my tropical bed simply because the guys who chopped the tree down where the bed now is didn't get all the chips up...The tree there was an Arizona ash....Apparently they don't like a lot of moisture, and last year, we had so much flooding that some of the upper branches got weighted down to the point of practically falling on the roof. The trunk was split down the middle. I don't know whether it was rotted or not. I hate the thought of getting rid of a tree, but in this case, safety was clearly an issue. The tree would easily have rotted with all the rain we had.
Susan, the Texas Yankee, the Texas Rangerette and the Assistant Administrator
SKBeal's Snazzy Tra
Susan,The Assistant Administrator, the Texas Yankee and the Texas Rangerette.
My mulches!
hiya,, i love the mulch that the city delivers for free!!! when the line men are triming the trees in your area if you contact them,, most will give you for free. Saves them a trip to the city dump + dump fees... just one of those truck can hold shredded leaves..branches , the size of a dump truck load.. i got 2 loads last sept/oct... they do have some branches in them that are about as big as your finger and prob. 10" long,,but very few of them,where they don't go through the shredder well,,,it's from where they take out tree limbs that interfer with the power lines,, you can get all varities of trees in your area,, here is mostly Oak and Pine,, but several others are mixed in also..i also use Oak leaves as i have lots of them and something in the Oak leaves deter weeds from growing,,
I don't like grass chippings or straw ,, i found they have too many weed seeds / grass seeds to use as mulch,, unless you really dry them out good..
Pay it FORWARDS!! You never know, it may come back to YOU when you need it!!
Pay it FORWARDS!! You never know, it may come back to YOU when you need it!!
I'm not sure if I have a
I think that other than mushroom mulch which I think is really fabulous (although I despise the little buggers more than any food on the planet,) leaves and grass provide wonderful mulch material....So does your compost.
Susan, the Texas Yankee, the Texas Rangerette and the Assistant Administrator
SKBeal's Snazzy Tra
Susan,The Assistant Administrator, the Texas Yankee and the Texas Rangerette.
I actually like the cedar
I actually like the cedar mulch. I love the color of it, however, where my hubby gets the bulk mulch only has hardwood mulch. It is much darker and after about a month is dark like dirt. I am actually happy for anything he brings me to help hold in the moisture and keep out the weeds. One advantage of the hardwood over the cedar is it doesn't break down as quickly. Or maybe that is a bad thing...depends on how you look at it. I have also used the dyed mulch. I have used the black at the cemetaries and watch out if you do use this...it does stain your skin and clothes. I friend of mine uses the red mulch and it is very pretty. I think it just depends on on you like.
A fr
A friend is a bloom that never fades
Trade with Micki43164