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There I was, staring at my own private Bandini Mountain, 2 units of garden mulch that extended from our driveway across the sidewalk and almost to the street.
I loaded the wheelbarrow a couple of times, dumping its contents in our garden.
About the third time, neighbor Mike stopped by, and for some reason “Tom Sawyer” came to mind. I mentioned how I reckoned that just by looking at the huge pile, I could feel my arms and back getting stronger.
Why, I said, it was like getting a quality workout at the gym at no price whatsoever.
So, enjoying a good workout as much as the next person, he asked, “Oh come on, lemme try a load or two” (only not in those exact words).
Aw, shucks. I hesitated. Just enough, I reckon, because before he dove in, he brought me a bottle of water as a payment of sorts for that free exercise.
And it wasn’t long after neighbor Mike, feeling a twinge in his back from all that free exercise, decided to call it a day, that neighbor Dwayne came by, wanting in on the action, too.
I have to admit, by day’s end, I felt a little (and apparently sounded a little, too) like Tom Sawyer himself. Although I never got an apple or a kite (in good repair) or a dead rat and a string to swing it with, I did learn the same lesson he did in Mark Twain’s classic book: “Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and … Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”
Neither Mike nor Dwayne was obliged to try to bring that huge pile of mulch down to manageable size, I reckon, but both did so, anyhow.
To which, I can only say, “Much obliged.”
And also, “What are you doing next weekend?” (Marcia: I reckon it’s going to be more like a month of weekends for us. Dennis: I’m afeared she’s right).
Marcia:
Tom, er, I mean Dennis, and I used to bark-dust our garden but switched to garden mulch about 15 to 20 years ago and haven’t looked back.
Because garden mulch is decomposed plant material, it doesn’t rob the soil of nitrogen as it breaks down, and instead builds the soil.
View full sizeThere was an endless stream of smiles (OK, maybe not, but I’ÂÂm smiling inside as I lead him down the garden path with the wheelbarrows) when very helpful neighbor Mike (Marchione) came by to help move mulch. A lot of mulch.
When I first ordered it instead of bark dust it was a little confusing. What I thought of as compost, some retailers (including the ones we have ordered from) called mulch or garden mulch, which is decomposed green waste that should be brought up to, according to various organizations, 160 degrees (Dennis: by the place you buy it from, not by you) to kill any existing seeds and pathogens. What some retailers call compost is manure-based and not what you’d want to mulch your beds with.
When you order, ask what you’re getting so there are no mistakes. Better yet, check it out in person. And before we hear from the bark dust lovers out there, I agree it’s a great product, and I know a lot of people use it as a mulch, but I prefer garden mulch because of all its added benefits.
Why garden mulch?
- You use less water because it holds in the moisture.
- You use less fertilizer, because the mulch’s nutrients leach into the soil.
- It helps keep out weeds.
- It builds the soil and helps break up clay soil.
- It insulates and moderates soil temperatures in weather extremes, keeping the roots cooler or warmer, depending on the season.
- It looks good and can really tidy up garden beds.
- It can be used on lawns, too. We mulch our lawns, where it acts as a fertilizer, builds the soil and helps retain moisture. (Dennis: And it helps even out the uneven spots caused by moles, which return to our backyard every year as sure as the swallows return to Capistrano, or the Vaux’s swifts to Chapman Elementary.) You would never want to use bark dust on a lawn, because it would kill the grass.
- It helps lessen soil erosion.
Tips
1. Weed first. Mulch helps control weeds but does not eliminate them.
2. Check out the website of the company you are ordering from, to see if it includes the following information:
- Has the mulch been heated up to 160 degrees to kill any seeds?
- Is it 100 percent decomposed green waste or is it blended with decomposed bark dust (which is nice, too). Make sure it’s decomposed, or it can rob the soil of nitrogen.
3. Buy it by the unit or the yard. A unit equals about 7 1/2 cubic yards and covers 1,200 square feet 2 inches deep.
View full size 4. Since garden mulch can vary widely in quality, check it out in person. It should be fairly even in texture and broken down, shouldn’t have any scraps of garbage and, unlike fertilizer, shouldn’t smell, well, funky.
5. For those people sensitive to mulch, use garden gloves, a mask and long sleeves when handling. Or, you could have it blown in, but that costs quite a bit more.
6. Spread your garden mulch 2 to 3 inches thick by using a wheelbarrow and dispersing it with your hands, a small bucket or a shovel.
7. Keep mulch away from the stems and trunks of plants and trees to prevent pests, rot and fungus.
8. How often you apply varies. We apply every two to four years when the old mulch is almost gone. Don’t over-mulch, either. If mulch builds up year after year it can create an impenetrable layer that doesn’t break down and allow root growth, among many other problems.
9. As for when, we usually mulch in the spring after the plants have sprouted up.
10. And, take it from someone who has done this a lot of times, have some duct tape on hand to remove the inevitable splinters you get if you, like me, don’t wear gloves. Just stick it on the affected area, then rip it off. The splinter sticks to the adhesive and you’re good to go.
Marcia Westcott Peck is a landscape designer (pecklandscape.com) and Dennis Peck is not. He is the editor of The Oregonian’s Living section, which is a good thing for him, because if he actually had to use his hands for anything other than typing, it would not be pretty.
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