Mulch

[sissy]

I have been remulching my gardens and taking the old mulch mostly out and putting it for compost .I noticed people here and other places that keep adding mulch on top of mulch and that is not so great for the plants .I learned a long time ago that yes mulch breaks down but also sucks nutrients out of the soil .I always fertilize the garden after I take the old mulch out and put the new mulch in .The composted mulch breaks down faster if you add garden lyme to it and then after you can add it back as compost .Also if you drink coffee the grounds from the coffee is great to help mulch break down .I never put down landscape fabric either as it hinders the water from getting through the mulch more than you realize .Try pouring water on it and see how it runs through ,not ver well.Double ground mulch if your garden is prone to wash out or on a hill or even around your pond is not the est as it does not lock together . Next time try the rougher hardwood mulch it is cheaper and locks together much better ,especially on hills .The double ground may look prettier but is it worth the extra work

 

[j.w]

I find that I can add the mulch over my old mulch as long as I don't dig it into the soil when I use the bigger sized mulch that doesn't compost as fast as the ground up fine stuff. I've heard the fine stuff if you mix it in the soil it steals the nitrogen out of the soil. I've used the coffee grounds around my plants that like acid soil. I dig it into the soil as if you leave it lay on the surface it's gets an ugly moldy look to it. I agree on the landscape fabric. Learned that the hard way. Put it down around a lot of trees we planted in a long row along the road and had to pull it all up after a few yrs. Weeds were all growing on top and sending their roots through the junk and water just rolled off of it. What a job and will never use it again!

 

[Jennywren]

I use different mulch for different areas here. On the garden out the front I have pine bark, out the back I have rock chips laid on weedmat and in my veg gardens and on the top of my pots I use sugar cane mulch. Except the Azaleas, they have pine bark on them.
I never remove the sugar cane or pine bark, but do add to it from time to time as it breaks down.
The pine bark takes a long time to break down, had some here for 4 years. The sugar cane is a much finer mulch and needs to be replaced quite often.
I don't know of anyone that removes and replaces mulch. Mulch is supposed to break down and feed the soil and helping to prevent evaporation.

 

[sissy]

I mostly use hardwood mulch as pine mulch is to acidic for plants and most of my plants are not acid loving plants .I learned that a long time ago when I was taking a landscaping class .It is great for all kinds of pines or conifers ,but can stunt or kill non acid loving .Mostly stunt but in some cases kill .Rock mulch in a hot climate is not good because it will make the ground to hot in the summer and dry it out faster .I know they use a lot of it in hot climates .Mostly I guess because it is hard and expensive to get other mulches .Palms are not as fussy and agave's are the same way .I would love to finally get an agave as my neighbor has one and just protects it in the winter with a make shift hot house they built .

 

[Countrygardener]

I get most of my mulch from the green chop place. It's not as uniform as what you will get from the depots, but it's cheap and you can buy it by the truck load.

 

[sissy]

I buy mine by the truckload also and buy the rough stuff as most of my gardens are on hills and it does not wash away

 

[j.w]

We make our own from tree branches tossed in the chipper.

 

[Addy]

I buy 20 yards at a time, they nicely deliver it, dump it in a nice pile in the back field. I put mulch over mulch, if I had to remove before remulching it would never get done.

 

[j.w]

I must agree w/ ya there addy. My mulch stays in place forever and ever Amen! And then just plop more over the old when needed.........no fuss, no muss! Nothing here has suffered yet from it.

 

[Addy]

I work hard enough hauling that stuff up the hill, no way removing and replacing

 

[j.w]

Hill or no hill it's not going anywhere at my place and it is staying put now that I have foiled the raccoons antics of digging it all out onto the grass.

 

[Tmann]

I am going with pine straw this year, tired of the black and brown stuff and it blows away as I have lots and lots of wind up here.

 

[j.w]

I don't think we have pine straw mulch here.

 

[sissy]

The best mulch i ever used was at my house in NJ and that was cocoa mulch from Hershey Park PA ,all you smelled was chocolate for 4 years .The hotter it got out and if it got wet the better the smell was .I think when I had the house up for sale it was the number 1 comment about the house .Chocolate will sell anything .I wish i could get it down here but you have to buy it at the the factory there .

 

[Sunshine]

I always heard that the chocolate mulch was toxic for animals. Anyone else heard that?