mulch: IP vs. Landscape Recycling Center?
Molly Bentsen
I was going to find someone to bring it from the Urbana Landscape Recycling
Center until I remembered that IP has sent me forms before for requesting
fresh mulch when they are trimming trees in my neighborhood. Any reason
I shouldn't want their (free, as I recall) stuff?
Molly
Kelly at klkbeadworks
Aren't you just asking for various kinds of fungus, mold and
disease when you use that kind of trimming?
--
Kelly
http://www.jewlart.com/klkbeadworks/
To e-mail me change bed to mind
Skyhooks
termites! And believe me, it is quite easy to get an expensive case of
termite infestation when using an unknown source of mulch, particularly
if said mulch is installed next to a major building, e.g., a house, so
beware!!! YMMV.
Skyhooks
hmardis at uiuc dot edu
"reply to" address antispammed -- subtract the xxx.
Jean P Nance wrote:
>
> The trouble with I.P. is it is all or nothing, They won't deliver a
> nice garden sized bushel or two or three of mulch. They come in and dump
> a pile of stuff roughly the size of a VW bug on your property. We once
> ordered a load delivered to the old Quaker Meeting House at Green and
> Busey. We didn't want them putting it on the driveway, asked them to put
> it on the lawn. Then we had to shovel it all off as soon as possible or
> ruin a big spot on the lawn. We didn't get the volunteer help we hoped
> for, mostly it was Jim, me, another elderly man, and one mature woman. It
> was great big pieces of wood and bark, wet and moldy and not smelling
> very nice. Moving it was a chore.
> It would be more expensive but save a lot of trouble to order just as
> much as you need from the Urbana site and pay to have it hauled. I would
> hope it is more finely divided than the stuff I.P. provides, too. You
> could go out and see first. Yes, you would be importing some fungus and
> etc, but unless you are allergic, that would soon disappear as the stuff
> dried out. If you don't need a lot, cypress mulch at KMart or Farm
> Service is pretty cheap per bag, and you wouldn't have the cost of
> hauling, just pick up a few bags at a time in your own car.
Molly Bentsen
>
> The trouble with I.P. is it is all or nothing, They won't deliver a
> nice garden sized bushel or two or three of mulch. They come in and dump
> a pile of stuff roughly the size of a VW bug on your property.
Actually, I may need a VW bug's worth or more, so quantity shouldn't
be a problem.
> It would be more expensive but save a lot of trouble to order just as
> much as you need from the Urbana site and pay to have it hauled. I would
> hope it is more finely divided than the stuff I.P. provides, too. You
> could go out and see first.
Good idea, Jean--I'll have to take a spin out there this week. Thanks
for the
details...
Molly
Jean P Nance
nice garden sized bushel or two or three of mulch. They come in and dump
ordered a load delivered to the old Quaker Meeting House at Green and
Busey. We didn't want them putting it on the driveway, asked them to put
it on the lawn. Then we had to shovel it all off as soon as possible or
ruin a big spot on the lawn. We didn't get the volunteer help we hoped
for, mostly it was Jim, me, another elderly man, and one mature woman. It
was great big pieces of wood and bark, wet and moldy and not smelling
very nice. Moving it was a chore.
much as you need from the Urbana site and pay to have it hauled. I would
hope it is more finely divided than the stuff I.P. provides, too. You
John Wason
On Sun, 14 May 2000, Skyhooks wrote:
> Another consideration is "bugs"!!!! The last thing you'd want is
> termites! And believe me, it is quite easy to get an expensive case of
> termite infestation when using an unknown source of mulch, particularly
> if said mulch is installed next to a major building, e.g., a house, so
> beware!!! YMMV.
I would qualify this by saying, however, that termites are just about
everywhere, just living in the soil. The only thing that protects our
houses is that they've been treated for termites, not an absence of
termites in the vicinity. My old house where I used to live had been
treated, and I never had a termite problem in the house itself, but every
year when I pulled up my garden stakes, a scant 50 feet or so from the
house, there was always evidence of termites. A stake would last
only two or three years before it had to be replaced.
Jean is pretty much correct on all counts here. One of my neighbors has a
load of chopped up wood delivered to his house by Illinois Power about
every 3 years. It's a pretty large pile, a dump truck load basically. He
has a gravel area next to the alley where they dump it, so it doesn't
ruin his lawn while sitting there until he's ready to spread it around.
Actually, he has very little lawn left, because he has used this wood
stuff to mulch just about everywhere, make walkways between his various
plantings, etc. It seems to be pretty uniform in size to me; I don't see
any great big chunks; if they're there he must dispose of them some way.
Apparently the stuff dries out when he spreads it around, and he isn't
particularly troubled by mold or insects.
This neighbor is really big on recycling and saving money, which of course
are other considerations with the mulch thing. He has also gotten free
used pallets, probably from the News-Gazette, and made the most functional
looking compost bins you've ever seen.
I used to bag my grass clippings and use them to mulch my vegetable
garden and around various bushes and stuff. Perhaps not as aesthetically
pleasing as cypress bark, but free, and better for the soil.
YMMV, unless you don't drive.
John
Molly Bentsen
>
> Molly Bentsen <ben...@uiuc.edu> wrote:
> : I need to have a truckload of mulch delivered for some new landscape beds.
> : I was going to find someone to bring it from the Urbana Landscape Recycling
> : Center until I remembered that IP has sent me forms before for requesting
> : fresh mulch when they are trimming trees in my neighborhood. Any reason
> : I shouldn't want their (free, as I recall) stuff?
>
> from IP) will do more harm than good. The process of decomposition by
> micro-organisms requires a lot of nitrogen. This nitrogen will then not
> be available for your plants. The smaller the chips, the greater the
> surface area, the worse the problem. It is actually possible to starve
> plants by mulching them to heavily with fresh, finely ground wood chips.
> Once the wood chips are covered with a decomposed layer (after about a
> year or so), they'll be fine.
The plan is to do a large (4 to 6 feet from the fence to the edge of the
bed) U on the perimeter of three sides of the backyard. Initially the goal
actually *is* to starve plants--vast tracts of violets and creeping charlie--
underneath the mulch. (There's also some grass there, which someone has
suggested applying Roundup to before laying on the mulch--would you agree?).
Our thought was that fresher mulch would do that more effectively than mulch
that is already decomposed, which might give the weeds new medium for
growing in.
If I had to wait a year to put in plant material, I would consider it,
because the other alternatives to preparing the beds (digging up all those
weeds?) seemed much heavier on either labor or expense. But would it work
to use the fresh mulch in the (fairly large) areas where I'm not putting
plants for now, and use ULRC hardwood or compost around the new plants?
The plants will be few for now, and just shrubs or trees. If I decide to
install the flower garden this year, I'll definitely take your advice on
using compost.
> The ULRC hardwood mulch is already partly composted and whenever I've
> gotten a load, has been of good quality.
>
> Another mulching alternative is compost. It costs the same per truckload
> from ULRC as their hardwood mulch, is a nice uniform dark brown and will
> hold down weeds and hold moisture. By adding a layer every year, you'll
> be improving your soil. Earthworms will do the work of incorporating it
> into your soil.
Does the ULRC deliver, or do I have to make my own arrangements for
a truck and driver? If the latter, suggestions from anyone gratefully
accepted...
> I would recommend seasoned wood mulch around trees and shrubs (no deeper
> than 4" or you can interfere with the roots' oxygen uptake) and compost
> in beds where you are growing flowering plants.
>
> Another nice, but expensive alternative is cocoa hull mulch. For looks,
> this is one of the most attractive mulches, plus it smells of chocolate
> for a few weeks ;-) (Don't use this is you have dogs who might eat it,
> though.)
I tried cocoa hulls in a small, completely shaded area 6 or 8 years ago,
and the mulch molded (or some process that seemed like molding to my
untrained eye). Given the expense, I didn't experiment with it again.
Thanks for your help!
Molly
> -- Karen
>
> Karen Fletcher flet...@prairienet.org
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
> ^and cats -- Cicero
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> The Garden Gate http://garden-gate.prairienet.org/
willis sean timothy
> The plan is to do a large (4 to 6 feet from the fence to the edge of the
> bed) U on the perimeter of three sides of the backyard. Initially the goal
> actually *is* to starve plants--vast tracts of violets and creeping charlie--
> underneath the mulch. (There's also some grass there, which someone has
> suggested applying Roundup to before laying on the mulch--would you agree?).
> Our thought was that fresher mulch would do that more effectively than mulch
> that is already decomposed, which might give the weeds new medium for
> growing in.
> If I had to wait a year to put in plant material, I would consider it,
> because the other alternatives to preparing the beds (digging up all those
> weeds?) seemed much heavier on either labor or expense. But would it work
> to use the fresh mulch in the (fairly large) areas where I'm not putting
> plants for now, and use ULRC hardwood or compost around the new plants?
> The plants will be few for now, and just shrubs or trees. If I decide to
> install the flower garden this year, I'll definitely take your advice on
> using compost.
Over the past year my mom has been converting half of her backyard into an
expansive garden for flowers, plants, and trees. The process we used to
help prep the area was really quite simple, and didn't involve the use of
any chemicals.
What we did was first scalp the area as much as possible with first the
lawnmower (set to as low as possible) and then the weedwacker. This got it
to bare dirt in many places. From there, we placed newsprint down a layer
at a time, then wetted it down until it was soaked, and then added more
layers, wetted them, and so on. This created a weed barrier similar to the
plastic or netting that is sometimes used, but that will decompose in
time. We then let it sit out in the sun for some time (a week or two) with
the bags of cypress mulch sitting on top of it to add warmth and speed the
killing of grass and weeds.
After that, it was just a matter of spreading the mulch (3 inches deep or
so) and planting into it. The first section that we did last year is
holding up pretty well, and they're expanding using the same method this
year. It looks nice, probably takes about as much time as spraying, and
there's no chemicals involved.
Sean Willis
Mike Berger
it wasn't just wood chips. Their load included a chain from a saw, and
the remnants of a crew's lunch.
Melissa S. Muckenhirn
delivered (by a tree guy, not IP,) I was picking little maple
trees out of my garden for weeks. Seems they had trimmed a maple
tree that day, during spring.
I prefer the hardwood mulch from Country Arbors (they'll deliver
a load, or you can buy burlap potato sacks full, and it's around
$4 for a sack.)
Molly Bentsen <ben...@uiuc.edu> wrote:
: I need to have a truckload of mulch delivered for some new landscape beds.
: I was going to find someone to bring it from the Urbana Landscape Recycling
: Center until I remembered that IP has sent me forms before for requesting
: fresh mulch when they are trimming trees in my neighborhood. Any reason
: I shouldn't want their (free, as I recall) stuff?
: Molly
Karen Fletcher
: The plan is to do a large (4 to 6 feet from the fence to the edge of the
: bed) U on the perimeter of three sides of the backyard. Initially the goal
: actually *is* to starve plants--vast tracts of violets and creeping charlie--
: underneath the mulch. (There's also some grass there, which someone has
: suggested applying Roundup to before laying on the mulch--would you agree?).
Definitely. Roundup is probably on of the least obnoxious of all the
pesticides. I even knowed hardcore organic gardeners who will use it as
a last resort. It is absorbed and incorporated into the plant where it
prevents production of an essential amino acid, inhibiting protein
production. Glyphosate is considered to be not active in the soil and is
eventually biodegraded by soil bacteria. It is not a threat to
groundwater because it is so strongly adsorbed by the soil.
Always read all of the information on the product label before using any
pesticide. Read the label for application restrictions.
: Our thought was that fresher mulch would do that more effectively than mulch
: that is already decomposed, which might give the weeds new medium for
: growing in.
Good reasoning.
: If I had to wait a year to put in plant material, I would consider it,
: because the other alternatives to preparing the beds (digging up all those
: weeds?) seemed much heavier on either labor or expense. But would it work
: to use the fresh mulch in the (fairly large) areas where I'm not putting
: plants for now, and use ULRC hardwood or compost around the new plants?
Sounds like a good plan. Compost for preference round new plants.
: Does the ULRC deliver, or do I have to make my own arrangements for
: a truck and driver? If the latter, suggestions from anyone gratefully
: accepted...
They do deliver. I don't know how much the delivery charge is in town,
but out past Philo it's $25. Well worth it, bagging your own is a major
pain when you're getting 7 yards of the stuff!
: I tried cocoa hulls in a small, completely shaded area 6 or 8 years ago,
: and the mulch molded (or some process that seemed like molding to my
: untrained eye). Given the expense, I didn't experiment with it again.
Nope, that was mold ;-) That is one drawback of cocoa hull mulch. If
it gets really soaked, it can clump up and mold like crazy.
Someone else had another good suggestion about using newspaper as a weed
barrier. This is an good free alternative to Roundup. I've started
some garden beds that way in areas where I didn't want to till.
Remember that you want to go light with the mulch -- 4" max -- in areas
where there are tree feeder roots (about 3-5 times the diameter of a
tree's drip line). Tree roots need oxygen in order to be able to absorb
water. Without oxygen trees and shrubs can wilt and literally die of
thirst in the midst of plenty (you see this a lot with overwatered
houseplants).
Kelly at klkbeadworks
Roundup to delineate bermuda grass. Using a big piece of
cardboard, we could achieve a nice tidy line with the stuff,
one side green, one side dead.
Jean P Nance wrote:
>
> Karen: Roundup will kill broadleaved plants, but won't bother grass at
> all. That is why people put it all over their lawn to kill dandelions,
> and etc. while leaving the grass.
Jean P Nance
Karen Fletcher
: Are you sure? When my family did rototilling we used
: Roundup to delineate bermuda grass. Using a big piece of
: cardboard, we could achieve a nice tidy line with the stuff,
: one side green, one side dead.
You remember right. Since it's a broad spectrum, non-selective herbicide,
Roundup has to be used carefully to make sure you're not hitting desirable
plants. It is undiscriminating and will kill most anything. Jean was
probably thinking of the 'spot killers' used for dandelions and other
broad leaf weeds.
I like the cardboard stencil idea ;-)
-- Karen
Kelly at klkbeadworks
>
> I like the cardboard stencil idea ;-)
>
> -- Karen
Bermuda grass was, of course, the bane of our professional
existence. Our customers for the most part just couldn't
grasp the fact that no matter how carefully they dug out the
dead stuff prior to our rototilling, they were just going to
get more planted by our tillers. That is truly the stuff
that does not die. We had a very detailed explanation of
this that they signed prior to tilling, so we wouldn't get
any small claims court complaints that began "they came out
and tilled, and then..." that we couldn't win.
I miss that work! Hell, I miss being ABLE to do that work!!