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My large Douglas fir trees, blue spruce and giant sequoia provide all the mulch I need, with their abundance of needles and small, male cones that fall every year.
I use pine straw, but it’s also abundant in my area.
No way I’d ever put down rubber mulch. What about when it comes time to remove it? Are you going to get on your hands and knees and remove every single piece of rubber?
This. I lived in one house that had gardens mulched with pea gravel and the builder hadn't bothered to put down cloth first. It was AWFUL- you couldn't rake or hoe it to loosen up the weeds. Some of the gardens in my current house did have cloth put down and then dirt on top of that, and the cloth eventually decays and tears- so even cloth with gravel over it isn't a good solution. Once you put down gravel mulch, if you decide you don't like it, it's a VERY difficult decision to reverse.
Exactly! The house I bought 18 months ago had that darn gravel in all the beds. The trash collector will only take 50 pounds at a time and they only come once a week so it took me a long time to get rid of it and it is a PITA to weed with that gravel. I started doing mulch but because I don't have gutters yet this year I started putting down some lava rock in the same color as the previous mulch as it doesn't wash away as quickly. With straw I would be afraid of fires if I lived in a place that gets them frequently.
Gardening takes a LOT of work. It is not a simple hobby and there really is no way around it. It is costly, and it takes a lot of time. Mulch season is even more intense than other periods.
My beds all have fabric down which helps, a little, to keep the weeds at bay. Of course, the weed seeds root in the mulch, but they are easier to remove.
I traditionally used bulk mulch. 30 yards or so each season. It was a lot of work to move and spread--not heavy work, but it took a couple of days to get it all in place.
Last year i switched to bag mulch. My beds are sufficiently mulched that now they need a top dressing. I am about 3/4 through the beds this year and so far have used about 300 bags. Still work, but a little easier, although to keep the cover consistent in color ( i use plain hardwood mulch) i mix several bags in my cart and then spread it with a fork.
There is no simple way to get a good looking and functional mulch cover. Just take your time and spread it carefully as time permits. I put a tarp down on my lawn if i have to have the pile there for a couple of days. That solves the dropping in the street problem and gives me more time with which to work with it. Bags have solved that problem, but they are slightly more costly, but involve less labor.
Hang in there. When you are finished it will look great.
I go the bag route. My beds need 32 bags of mulch each spring. I can fit 12 bags in my trunk, so in the spring I usually pick up 10-12 on my way home, and work on as much as that will cover, and then get more. After a couple weeks i'm done.
Mine only lasts 1 years. I'm laying down 3-4" of coverage and by the following spring, i'm seeing dirt poking through in areas. I've tried a few different brands but it pretty much lasts one season for me
I put down 10 yards of mulch every 3 years or so. It's back-breaking work (this year it's literal as I pulled something in my back haha) and I dread doing it but the rewards of a nicely mulched yard is worth it. I'm paying my nephew $20/hr to help me spread the mulch in the backyard areas this year so hopefully it'll speed up the painful process. I'm sure that you can find and pay some teenagers to do the same.
We cover our whole front with mulch and don't bother with a lawn because we're in the woods basically.
We get a truckload or two when we need to, have it dumped on the driveway, and work through it at our leisure. I shovel the stuff into the wheelbarrow, DH takes it to the spot and spreads it. We're in our 80's. What's with this not being able to do a little physical work? We do half an hour at a time, no more, go inside and recuperate, might do three sessions a day. You'd be surprised how fast you can get through a truckload of mulch. We have to do this about every 3 years. If you can't do it, I'm sure there are plenty of high school kids who would do this for you.
We cover our whole front with mulch and don't bother with a lawn because we're in the woods basically.
We get a truckload or two when we need to, have it dumped on the driveway, and work through it at our leisure. I shovel the stuff into the wheelbarrow, DH takes it to the spot and spreads it. We're in our 80's. What's with this not being able to do a little physical work? We do half an hour at a time, no more, go inside and recuperate, might do three sessions a day. You'd be surprised how fast you can get through a truckload of mulch. We have to do this about every 3 years. If you can't do it, I'm sure there are plenty of high school kids who would do this for you.
Well I work 10-12 hour days, sometimes longer. I am a single parent of two kids that I have full custody of, which requires me taking them to sports, school activities and dr appointments. While I don’t mind physical labor, my body feels different. I broke my chest in an auto accident as a teenager. I still have back and chest issues. I hurtmy ankle this winter because it just gave out and caused me to fall. I still can’t put weight on it. I am physically older body wise than my age says...
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