Lately, I've heard a lot of confusing information about mulch. We've been told it's wise to use because it helps conserve water, fights erosion, and blocks weeds. But I've also heard there's mulch that's toxic to dogs, harmful to plants, and one where trees are harvested just to make mulch. As a newbie gardener, I decided to do a little digging and find a mulch that was good for my garden, as well as the earth...
FloriMulch - I spoke briefly about trees that are harvested specifically for mulch, well this is the exception to the rule. FloriMulch is made from melaleuca trees, a tree that grows in the Everglades but is highly invasive, so removing them is helpful to the environment. It is resistant to termites and comes in a variety of colors.
Rubber Mulch - Is made from recycled tires and therefore keeps a non-biodegradeable product from ending up in our landfills. It's non-toxic and will not attract insects and other pests.
Paper - Commercial paper mulches are made from recycled paper that's biodegradable. Does everything you want a mulch to do (keeps in moisture, regulates soil temperature, reduces erosion), but when you are ready to replant, you just mix it back into the soil.
Pine Bark and Dried Needles - This mulch is the only mulch I ever saw in our gardens as a kid. Not necessarily because it was an eco-friendly choice, more likely because I grew up in a coastal town with an abundance of pine trees. 100% organic, pine bark chips retain their shape and color longer than shredded wood mulches, and the pine needles are excellent for acid-loving plants. Using a layer a few inches deep will prevent the roots from freeze damage. They are usually a byproduct of lumbering, so turning it into mulch makes use of a resource that might otherwise be wasted. On a side note, perhaps it's just regional dialect, but we have always referred to dried pine needles as "pine shats".
Coconut Husk - Is all natural and combats drought situations. It also smells lovely and will not develop mildew or attract bugs.
Synthetic Pine Straw - Is fashioned from recycled plastic. It's hypoallergenic, does not absorb moisture, and is termite and insect resistant.
Mulches to Avoid:
Cypress - This is one of the most popular mulches there is, but should be avoided at all costs. While mill remnants are sometimes used for the mulch, entire trees are used as well. Cypress are slow-growing trees that live in freshwater wetlands. They serve as vital habitat for wildlife as well as filtering water resources. Used as a mulch, shredded cypress can also develop fungal mats and will fade in color and decay within a year or two.
Cocoa Mulch - A byproduct of commercial cocoa grinding and beneficial to the garden in many ways, this mulch is often on the eco-friendly list. It will not make the list here because, like chocolate, the mulch contains theobromine which is toxic to dogs.
As we've been told before, try to think of resources you might be able to acquire locally or can repurpose from around your house. Newspapers, straw, corn husks, dried manure, peanut shells, and compost work well for mulch. Get creative and you might be able to save some money and the environment.
(Images: 1: Kimberly Watson, 2: Natural Home)
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Now you tell me.
Really inforamtive, up in the northeast we use a lot of shredded bark, I mix mine with shredded maple leaves. It's softer underfoot and the leaves are free from my yard.
Thanks for this info. We were using pine needles but not on purpose, it was just how are trees are dropping on our garden beds up here in Maine.
Katy
http://fengshuibyfishgirl.com
I disagree with your choice to put cocoa mulch on the "avoid" list. As long as you don't have dogs, this shouldn't be an issue. It is a very lovely look and easy to handle because it is so light.
I an outdoor mall use acorn caps as mulch, and it was so amazing! No idea where to get such a thing, but it was awesome.
I saw an outdoor mall... etc
"like chocolate, the mulch contains theobromine which is toxic to dogs." I have heard this on so many occasions but I had an acquaintance whose little dog ate chocolate kisses every day of its life - and lived to be 17 the last time I saw her. Is it just toxic in certain breeds?
Milady, it's the concentration of theobromine is probably pretty low in chocolate kisses. I only say this because my little pug ate a whole bag of Cadbury eggs (those solid chocolate ones...so delicious =) and the vet said he would be fine...
I think it's cocoa/chocolate in purer forms that can possibly pose an issue. Probably still a bad idea to feed your dog chocolate though hehe.
Chocolate kisses have very little actual chocolate in them, assuming you meant hershey's. But it is definitely poisonous. The higher the quality of chocolate, the more theobromine the chocolate contains. A few ounces of super high quality dark chocolate can kill a small dog.
I once split 60% dark chocolate chips on the floor while baking, lord it was stressful getting it all up and away from my little pug.
I recently moved to Southern Miss. and just about everybody uses "pine straw" which are just really long pine needles. They look great but I don't know how widely available they are.
What about compost? I've used composted steer manure, mushrooms and mint. All work great, are dark black, and improve the soil.
don't use pine needles if you live in the southwest because of wildfires or if you're in the south with cockroaches... they like pine needles.
What about mulch made from recycled Christmas trees? I know around here that some places accept trees that will be recycled into mulch, and in the past (not sure about 2009), Somerville (MA) has had a pickup program where they collect trees in January, recycle them into mulch, and offer that mulch free to residents. Pretty cool if you ask me!
some pine needles are acidic, and i would imagine years of using them may cause certain sensitive plants to die.
its not actually that dogs are "allergic" to chocolate, its that the theobromine actually builds up in their little bodies. they cannot process it. so it makes sense that almost everybody knows somebody whos dog didnt die from eating chocolate, the story would probably change if those dogs ate dark chocolate every day.
great post for me being a novice gardener, now - it'd be great to have some sources for buying them as I don't see a lot of these at my local OSH/garden store.
I just had the tree service that pruned some of our tree drop off an entire truck load of wood chips (w/ some leaves shredded in) for free. We put a THICK layer down on top of some underbrush on the one side of our house that included a ton of poison ivy. Tree services are always looking to give away wood chips.