Alternatives to Mulch?

[JoeyGee]

It's time to re-mulch again. I really don't like buying mulch every year, especially since it degrades and fades, making it look shabby after only a few months. I thought about using rock (more $ up front, but not having to replace it again...and again...) but I have not seen anything that I like. I like our current black mulch, but can't find any dark or even dark rocks.

Are there any alternatives? We are already scaling way back on the mulched areas and putting in more grass (which I really prefer, anyway).

[crokett]

You can plant more grass which you are doing already. You can find some darker gravel. Disadvantages to gravel is it is harder to dig in if you plant a lot of perennials every year and it doesn't hold moisture nearly as well as mulch, nor does it keep the ground as cool during the summer. It also doesn't rot in and improve your soil. You can also look into a synthetic, rubberized mulch. It is initially more $$$ than natural but you only need to put it down once. It provides the benefits of natural but doesn't rot. We almost went this way but decided we did not like the look of the rubber product. Oh yeah, you can also plant a ground cover. My mom does this but I think it just looks messy.

[siliconbauhaus]

try these.....recycled tyres like crokett suggested

http://www.americanrubber.com/mulchinfo.html

http://www.internationalmulch.com/rubberific_mulch.asp

[JR]

We are already scaling way back on the mulched areas and putting in more grass (which I really prefer, anyway).

Ok, this is funny to a California gargener. Landscape designers here have been following the exact opposite advice. We're told to cut back on the lawn, use more mulch. Of course in our semi-arid environment, water comes at a premium.

Anyway, I'd recommend continuing with an organic mulch. It will continue to improve the soil while keeping weeds down. I don't know how you're buying your mulch (bags or bulk?), or how much area you're talking about, but if you shop around you might find a commercial operation offering it in bulk at a substantial discount vs. retail. I had a couple of yards of soil ammendment dropped in my driveway once for ~$75.

Lava rock is a good inorganic mulch. It's dark, lightweight and doesn't compact easily. It's also a life decision - taking it out would be much harder than putting it in.

my 2c
JR

[ragswl4]

Mulch and TERMITES!!

Careful if you go to a wood recyler for your mulch. We did that a couple of years in a row and while we can't be sure, we think the termites that now infest one wall of the house came from that mulch. The wood was recycled from a nearby housing development.

[Russianwolf]

What I want, and what I suggest, is Pine Straw (pine needles). They look good, degrade slowly, are pleasant to walk on barefoot, and don't float away like wood nuggets. And water penetrates easily.

problem is no one around here stocks it (usually sold in bales like regular straw) and to get some I'd have to order half a trailer, about 1000 bales.

It's one of the few things I miss about living in SC, every nursery down there has plenty of the stuff. Next time I go down for a visit, I'll rent a trailer and bring back as much as I can.

[Russianwolf]

Careful if you go to a wood recyler for your mulch. We did that a couple of years in a row and while we can't be sure, we think the termites that now infest one wall of the house came from that mulch. The wood was recycled from a nearby housing development.

never mulch up against the side of your house unless you have concrete for the first 2 feet going up. ANY wood mulch (except maybe cedar and cyprus) or any other wood that gets wet attracts termites.

previous opwner had brought in a bunch of that red dyed mulch, I covered it with real cedar mulch when I found termites in it. They're gone now.

[JoeyGee]

RW, I agree on the pine needles. We actually have a couple large pines in the back of our yard, and we just leave them when they fall. Unfortunately, there is not enough to cover the rest of the yard.

[guycox]

We got a wood chipper and make some of our own mulch from neighbors' tree pruning and windfall.

I also have a pretty good mulch producer in the shop that I bought at Woodcraft -- A Nova 24x16 lathe and an Ellsworth bowl gouge.. I just segregate out the Walnut shavings. On a good afternoon I can turn out about 70 gallons of really nice Cherry mulch.

I can also color coordinate the much with the plantings... -- Need yellow mulch > Mullberry and Osage, Cedar for Red, etc. I usually bag the exotics unless I've gone to the trouble to look up the toxicity (I'm unsure if some of them are like walnut and would killl everything in the bed).

[billwmeyer]

termites

We use the Cypress Mulch. I had about a third of a bag left over from last year, and when opened, it was full of termites. I thought that wouldn't happen with cypress.

Bill

[Russianwolf]

We use the Cypress Mulch. I had about a third of a bag left over from last year, and when opened, it was full of termites. I thought that wouldn't happen with cypress.

Bill

I understood the same thing Bill, but I did find this doing a little looking.

An interesting finding in Duryea’s study was that, while the heartwood (the dark-colored core of the trunk) of cypress was consumed by termites much less than pine sapwood (termite candy), the sapwood of cypress was nearly as palatable to the termites as pine sapwood.

[gsmittle]

I have a couple of high school students I'd be willing to run through the chipper for you. ... Err, I mean, go with the organic mulch for the reasons everybody just gave.

g.

[jlm]

Lava rock is a good inorganic mulch. It's dark, lightweight and doesn't compact easily. It's also a life decision - taking it out would be much harder than putting it in.

I have to agree with and emphasize this statement. Once you put rock down, you're stuck with it unless you want to do a LOT of work. The previous owners of my house really liked that awful sharp white rock that was popular maybe 20 years ago, and filled every flower bed with it. It's a pain to plant in (and white rock looks pretty bad, since it gets dirty and stays that way), so we decided to get rid of it. Took days of digging and sifting and grubbing around in the dirt. It's pretty much a handful-at-a-time proposition; very unpleasant work.

All this to say, unless you find a rock you really, REALLY like, I'd avoid it for mulching.

[billwmeyer]

termites

Mike,
That is interesting! I think we should switch to cedar.
Bill

[JoeyGee]

try these.....recycled tyres like crokett suggested

http://www.americanrubber.com/mulchinfo.html

http://www.internationalmulch.com/rubberific_mulch.asp

Thanks. I checked out International Mulch and received a couple samples of their recycled tire mulch. The Black Rubberific is pretty good (although I think the rubber smell would be too much). The other one (the uncoated one) actually has pieces of fabric and parts of the steel belt in them. I am sure it's just a QC error, but that's a pretty bad one, considering it's a sales sample : )