Where to dispose of old mulch? (Cary: home, to buy, organic)

[myNC]

We last week refreshed the old mulch with the new one. This is in Cary. How do we dispose of the removed mulch? Can we leave it (in the bags) along side of the curb so that trash pick-up will pick it?

Thanks for the help.

[arbyunc]

Just curious--why did you remove the old mulch? Unless it's synthetic, there's no need for the extra work. You can just pile the new on top of the old.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

I'm a big fan of gently raking the old much and allowing the decayed pieces to work their way into the soil. Then any remaining old much is just covered up with a new layer of fresh mulch. Saves on expenses since you don't have to buy as much mulch each year and improves the organic matter of the soil below.

If for some reason you need to completely remove the old mulch, I would put it in a yard waste bag (like the brown paper bags Ace hardware sells) and put it out on the curb so it can be collected and composted with the yard waste the city collects.

[zinner]

Every 2-3 years you need to rake out the old mulch around the plants and put down new, otherwise it chokes out air/water from the roots.

I leave it by the road to get picked up with yard waste. Cary doesn't pick up yard waste?

[Bogey Golf]

Originally Posted by zinner

Every 2-3 years you need to rake out the old mulch around the plants and put down new, otherwise it chokes out air/water from the roots.

I leave it by the road to get picked up with yard waste. Cary doesn't pick up yard waste?

You don't have to remove it. You only have to rake it loose so the air and water can penetrate. Decomposing mulch is the best thing for plants. Don't throw it out.

[myNC]

Thank you guys for the quick responses. I am a newbie homeowner who doesn't know much (bought the home new 8 months ago). I thought I needed to remove the old mulch to replace it with the new. I will use the replaced stuff where I have not removed mulch yet.

[h2ohzrd]

Originally Posted by zinner

Every 2-3 years you need to rake out the old mulch around the plants and put down new, otherwise it chokes out air/water from the roots.

I leave it by the road to get picked up with yard waste. Cary doesn't pick up yard waste?

I seriously doubt that mulch contributes much (if any) to the bulk density of the soil. In fact, if it's organic (i.e. not synthetic), raking it into the soil with a stiff rake will do more good than harm.

[raleighjayne]

Old layers of mulch have helped my soil immensely! Really helped to loosen up the nasty clay and adds organic material to the soil as it decomposes. Unless you've got pine straw--it doesn't do much of anything for the soil. I assume we're talking about bark mulch.

Glad that you still have some places where you can use it.

[myNC]

I think ours is Pine Straw (stringy stuff). So, should I discard it? Am confused

[raleighkc]

You can put pine straw in clear plastic bags for the yard waste pickup, which I think is the same day as regular trash pickup.