Ask a Query - How to Find Inexpensive Mulch


	Home	About Us	Blog	Contact Us	Disclaimer

	Enter Your Question	Enter Your Email Id

Advanced Search

Categories

Home Improvement (146)

Tell a friend


	How to Find Inexpensive Mulch

Gardening and landscaping have become quite popular and the cost of supplies has dramatically risen in past few years. Mulch – things thrown over the ground to smother weeds - can be costly if purchased from the garden store. Here are some economical sources of mulch for your yard and garden.

Steps

1. Get some flattened cardboard from your local landfill. Normally they will let you, provided you call them in advance for permission. You can also use big pieces of cardboard like those available at an appliance store. The cardboard will remain flat if you use a string trimmer to clean the area- cut as close to the ground as possible, without harming bark of shrubs or trees with the trimmer. Water the dry ground. Place cardboard, overlapping borders by at least 6". Place bricks, large rocks, or ideally a heavy (4") layer of mulch like woodchips to keep down the cardboard. It is best in case of damp ground and the growing season is active- late winter is best in different climates. You can achieve the same task by placing heavy layers of newspaper and placing mulch over it.

2. Keep a square of used carpet on the desginated garden area and keep it throughout the winter. By spring, all the weeds will smothered and it will be simpler to lay a garden here. Shift the carpet to another area and redo. For better looks, cover the carpet with woodchips. In late spring, rake off the chips, take off the carpet, and rake the chips back onto the area freed from weeds to prevent new weeds from growing.

3. Get a permit from your local Forest Service for collecting rocks. It costs $5 in idaho. Rocks are a great mulch and will prolong the growing season by storing heat into the night. It is less environmentally friendly than woodchips, and little rocks can become soil, making it difficult to dig out the weeds.

4. Many tree services and electric companies provide a free load of woodchips. Some electric companies cut plants that grow near wires and chop them. The electric company will offer a load(dump truck) of uncleaned wood chips. Go through the yellow pages. Woodchips offer unarguably the best mulch, except on vegetable gardens. Rough wood chips allow weed seeds to fall down through them, then don’t provide sufficient light to germinate. Once the chips rot, they better the soil and you can put more. Use a thick layer - - at least 4".

5. Question your local coffee shop if they bin empty burlap coffee bean bags. (They are also a great wrap to protect shrubs during the winter.)

6. Many cities or municipalities collect branches and leaves in the fall. They are powdered or cut into a mulch. They usually are available for free at a service center or some other place to local residents. Contact the right office in your area to find out. Always carry your own rake or shovel, containers or pickup truck.

Warnings

· Avoid using colored newspaper or ads for mulch in a garden due to the presence of chemicals in them. Black and white newspaper is accetable.

· Don’t keep mulch right up against the bottom of trees and shrubs, as it attracts insects and diseases, and can lead to burying the crown. Keep a 6" ring free from mulch.

Your Vote


Submit Your Comments
Email Address
Comments


	Home \| About Us \| Blog \| Contact Us \| Disclaimer
	© www.askaquery.com. All rights reserved.