7 Cheap (Or Free) Mulch Sources and How To Use Them In Your Garden
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Date: 2022-07-18
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Comments and reviews: 15
Virginia
I wouldn't want municipal wood chips or compost on my food garden. You cannot know if there are pesticides or even herbicides on the chips or in the compost or some other toxins or pollutants. Also, hay and straw is very likely to have pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizer on them. I would not use those on my organic garden either. I rake up pine straw from a neighbor's pine forest and get clean wood chips for my brambles and the non-food garden areas from an arborist that I know would tell me if it was clean or not. Neither cost me anything.
You can use a vacuuming leaf blower with a metal impeller to suck up leaves into a bag that cuts them up into about half-inch pieces. It takes a little longer than blowing them, but you get perfect mulch or compost material.
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I wouldn't want municipal wood chips or compost on my food garden. You cannot know if there are pesticides or even herbicides on the chips or in the compost or some other toxins or pollutants. Also, hay and straw is very likely to have pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizer on them. I would not use those on my organic garden either. I rake up pine straw from a neighbor's pine forest and get clean wood chips for my brambles and the non-food garden areas from an arborist that I know would tell me if it was clean or not. Neither cost me anything.
You can use a vacuuming leaf blower with a metal impeller to suck up leaves into a bag that cuts them up into about half-inch pieces. It takes a little longer than blowing them, but you get perfect mulch or compost material.
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TJ
Ha. I didn't realise you couldn't get those raised beds in yankville. Guess I took them for granted.
A small straw bale is $13 here in Australia. Better to just get lucerne hay from Bunnings for the same price. You get around 50% more than a straw bale and it's certified.
You also forgot your local community garden. You have lots of people from your neighbourhood working together to make compost & mulch. Joining the local community garden means you meet your neighbours, can share experiences and tips, learn from more experienced gardeners and you get free compost and mulch for not just your community plot but your home as well. If you live in an apartment they also give you space to plant.
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Ha. I didn't realise you couldn't get those raised beds in yankville. Guess I took them for granted.
A small straw bale is $13 here in Australia. Better to just get lucerne hay from Bunnings for the same price. You get around 50% more than a straw bale and it's certified.
You also forgot your local community garden. You have lots of people from your neighbourhood working together to make compost & mulch. Joining the local community garden means you meet your neighbours, can share experiences and tips, learn from more experienced gardeners and you get free compost and mulch for not just your community plot but your home as well. If you live in an apartment they also give you space to plant.
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Amber
You are right about the other stuff and seeds being in the hay, but that is actually why it preferable actually. Straw has little nutrient density. Hay on the other hand is completely FULL of nutrient density and variety! Which is why it not only works fabulous for mulching, but also feeds your soil! You have to make sure you lay it thick enough. That is the trick. When it is too thin or sparse it allows light through which allows seed germination and weed growth. Thick enough it stops those issues and feeds the garden as is decomposes. Hope this helps: ) I think a lot of people look over this fact and are missing out as well as their gardens and plants; )
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You are right about the other stuff and seeds being in the hay, but that is actually why it preferable actually. Straw has little nutrient density. Hay on the other hand is completely FULL of nutrient density and variety! Which is why it not only works fabulous for mulching, but also feeds your soil! You have to make sure you lay it thick enough. That is the trick. When it is too thin or sparse it allows light through which allows seed germination and weed growth. Thick enough it stops those issues and feeds the garden as is decomposes. Hope this helps: ) I think a lot of people look over this fact and are missing out as well as their gardens and plants; )
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Savage3OO6
If you have the ability to store some straw bales, look around your neighborhood in the fall, particularly right after Halloween. A lot of people use straw bales for Halloween decorations and then throw them on the curb to be picked up on garbage day. My wife is one of those people that use them for decorations, but I never let them get to the curb and I just stack them behind my shed under some tarp until spring rolls around. I see dozens of them on the curb each fall, in my neighborhood, therefore I'll never pay for my straw mulch.
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If you have the ability to store some straw bales, look around your neighborhood in the fall, particularly right after Halloween. A lot of people use straw bales for Halloween decorations and then throw them on the curb to be picked up on garbage day. My wife is one of those people that use them for decorations, but I never let them get to the curb and I just stack them behind my shed under some tarp until spring rolls around. I see dozens of them on the curb each fall, in my neighborhood, therefore I'll never pay for my straw mulch.
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josephjdesouza
Good ideas. However, I'm a little cautious about the use of leaves and grass clippings. I live in the northeast in the suburbs. Lots of neighbors use weed products and insecticides in their lawn. I don't know how long those chemicals take to break down in the ecosystem and even though I use organic fertilizers and natural weed remediation I'm a little leery of the water table getting traces of these chemicals from adjacent properties. A raised garden bed and reliably sourced compost and mulch are a gardener's best friend.
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Good ideas. However, I'm a little cautious about the use of leaves and grass clippings. I live in the northeast in the suburbs. Lots of neighbors use weed products and insecticides in their lawn. I don't know how long those chemicals take to break down in the ecosystem and even though I use organic fertilizers and natural weed remediation I'm a little leery of the water table getting traces of these chemicals from adjacent properties. A raised garden bed and reliably sourced compost and mulch are a gardener's best friend.
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Barbara
So I just watched your vid on mulch. Very good and informative. My question is: what, if any, are the negatives in using cardboard as a weed barrier in my side yard garden? I am in NM and we have bermuda grass that is very invasive! I really don't want to use weed cloth but I need to put something down to destroy this vicious (in my situation) weed! So your comments please on a layer of cardboard covered with mulch? Then I can do a little rock plant landscaping.
Thank you so much and eagerly awaiting your reply,
Barbara
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So I just watched your vid on mulch. Very good and informative. My question is: what, if any, are the negatives in using cardboard as a weed barrier in my side yard garden? I am in NM and we have bermuda grass that is very invasive! I really don't want to use weed cloth but I need to put something down to destroy this vicious (in my situation) weed! So your comments please on a layer of cardboard covered with mulch? Then I can do a little rock plant landscaping.
Thank you so much and eagerly awaiting your reply,
Barbara
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Nicolas
You're so lucky to have free woodchips in the US. In Europe it's much less common. When you go to the dumpyard, you actually have to pay for compost, and wood chips. It's a huge part of their business. And where I live, there's just too much plastic in it. The compost also heats so much, there's nothing left to eat for soil life, so it's inert. I volunteer at a shared urban garden, and luckily the city has an arrangement with landscape gardeners so we get woodchips like that. Much less plastic, it's great stuff.
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You're so lucky to have free woodchips in the US. In Europe it's much less common. When you go to the dumpyard, you actually have to pay for compost, and wood chips. It's a huge part of their business. And where I live, there's just too much plastic in it. The compost also heats so much, there's nothing left to eat for soil life, so it's inert. I volunteer at a shared urban garden, and luckily the city has an arrangement with landscape gardeners so we get woodchips like that. Much less plastic, it's great stuff.
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Lancer525
I once went to a Garden Show, and there was a guy there from a local Master Gardener group who was talking about mulch. Long story short, he said that leaves were good, except for Oak, Locust, and Chinaberry. Does that include all kinds of oaks? We have about six or seven different kinds of oak trees around here, and I have neighbors who have Chinaberry on one side, and Locust on the other side. I know that walnut, especially black walnut, contains juglone, but I've also been told that most oak does as well.
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I once went to a Garden Show, and there was a guy there from a local Master Gardener group who was talking about mulch. Long story short, he said that leaves were good, except for Oak, Locust, and Chinaberry. Does that include all kinds of oaks? We have about six or seven different kinds of oak trees around here, and I have neighbors who have Chinaberry on one side, and Locust on the other side. I know that walnut, especially black walnut, contains juglone, but I've also been told that most oak does as well.
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Meagan
Grass clippings, fall leaves, pine needles. check, check and check. Now. what to do with all the gumballs/spiky balls from the three sweet gum trees in our backyard! Mostly I just want gardeners to come around asking to get them all out of my backyard for me. Lol! Our neighborhood was built in the 1950's, so lots of big trees. We have 7 trees in our backyard and the 3 biggest are these huge sweet gums. Fantastic for shade but yea, you aren't gonna run around this yard barefoot.
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Grass clippings, fall leaves, pine needles. check, check and check. Now. what to do with all the gumballs/spiky balls from the three sweet gum trees in our backyard! Mostly I just want gardeners to come around asking to get them all out of my backyard for me. Lol! Our neighborhood was built in the 1950's, so lots of big trees. We have 7 trees in our backyard and the 3 biggest are these huge sweet gums. Fantastic for shade but yea, you aren't gonna run around this yard barefoot.
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Tim
Is there any mulch recommended that won't attract roaches? I have been using leaves in my garden (surrounded by turf grass) but been noticing more and more German roaches in the garden. Fortunately, I was able to keep myself from burning the entire pace down (my knee jerk reaction to those things) and simply remove the leaves. This has gotten rid of the issue. But is there anything else I could use that wouldn't bring them back? (I love is SC. why I live here, I don't know)
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Is there any mulch recommended that won't attract roaches? I have been using leaves in my garden (surrounded by turf grass) but been noticing more and more German roaches in the garden. Fortunately, I was able to keep myself from burning the entire pace down (my knee jerk reaction to those things) and simply remove the leaves. This has gotten rid of the issue. But is there anything else I could use that wouldn't bring them back? (I love is SC. why I live here, I don't know)
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Debbie
Both hay and straw have seeds. Hay is used for feed and straw is used for bedding. Straw is also used in gardening. Our country store where we get our straw bales were out of straw bales so I had to get the hay bales. So in conclusion, dont kid yourself, they both have seeds. Also hay is more expensive than straw. When the bales grow, and they will, you just pull them out.
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Both hay and straw have seeds. Hay is used for feed and straw is used for bedding. Straw is also used in gardening. Our country store where we get our straw bales were out of straw bales so I had to get the hay bales. So in conclusion, dont kid yourself, they both have seeds. Also hay is more expensive than straw. When the bales grow, and they will, you just pull them out.
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Julio
You. Can talk to the workers when you see them cutting trees and ask them to contact you when they have a job and to tell you how much they have and even what kind of trees they cut down. You can also figure out what season it is to know if the trees are going to be very leafy or during the fall or after there will be no leafs
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You. Can talk to the workers when you see them cutting trees and ask them to contact you when they have a job and to tell you how much they have and even what kind of trees they cut down. You can also figure out what season it is to know if the trees are going to be very leafy or during the fall or after there will be no leafs
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Castle
My friends family owns a mint farm and she has offered me mint hay, a byproduct of the mint processing industry. Its been steamed to a high temp in processing which kills seeds and eliminates the possibility of it beginning to grow in your garden. I guess the main thing to consider is if it is organic or not. Any thoughts?
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My friends family owns a mint farm and she has offered me mint hay, a byproduct of the mint processing industry. Its been steamed to a high temp in processing which kills seeds and eliminates the possibility of it beginning to grow in your garden. I guess the main thing to consider is if it is organic or not. Any thoughts?
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Dane
Currently scouring my neighborhood and getting friendly with landscaping companies in search of all the leaves I can get my hands on I've been on the fence about accepting grass clippings because it tends, more than most other mulch sources, to get doused with all kinds of pesticides and herbicides. Thoughts?
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Currently scouring my neighborhood and getting friendly with landscaping companies in search of all the leaves I can get my hands on I've been on the fence about accepting grass clippings because it tends, more than most other mulch sources, to get doused with all kinds of pesticides and herbicides. Thoughts?
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Laura
Chip Drop has been a HUGE disappointment in Richmond VA. I have never had any actually deliver even though they said. I still got charged. Thankfully my bank reversed the charge since I didnt want to wait the two to three weeks for Chip Drop to refund. So, if doing ChipDrop, dont pay and do count on them
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Chip Drop has been a HUGE disappointment in Richmond VA. I have never had any actually deliver even though they said. I still got charged. Thankfully my bank reversed the charge since I didnt want to wait the two to three weeks for Chip Drop to refund. So, if doing ChipDrop, dont pay and do count on them
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