Mulching - Flower beds

Discussion in 'Gardening Other' started by Kristylea, Aug 28, 2014.

  1. Kristylea

    Kristylea New Seed

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    Looking for a way to have a perfect mulched flower bed. Would like rubber mulch or something I don't have to change often nor lose it's color.


    moderator's note: moved topic to more appropriate forum
     
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  3. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    Rubber mulch is made from old tires, tires are made using chemicals that will kill beneficial insects and some plants. It will stink in the hot part of a Texas summer.

    Wood chips will attract termites (I did miss word this...the wood chips keep the termites around and can lead to them getting into your house if you put mulch against the wood siding). After a couple of Springs when the termites swarmed out of the flower bed, I scraped it all up and threw it in the trash.

    Gravel will reflect heat from the sun onto the plants and scorch them and will reflect heat onto your house making it hotter.

    I use shredded Texas native Red Cedar. The color will fade over time (we are in Texas afterall) ;) and it will compost into the soil improving the soil so you will have to add to it but not change it.

    Some use compost as a mulch/top dressing on beds but again as the sun bakes it the color will change. And it really doesn't suppress weeds. But it does improve the soil.

    P.s. I found this article on the badness of rubber mulch that might be of interest http://www.natureswayresources.com/Docs ... rMulch.pdf
     
  4. Cayuga Morning

    Cayuga Morning Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    Toni, great post. I so agree with you about rubber mulch. It is not biodegradable, in time it looks like a mess as gardeners try to move, add, & divide plants in it.

    Kristylea--I hope you are able to find the Texas native Red Cedar that Toni recommends.

    BTW, welcome to the Stew! I hope you like it here (not withstanding the opinions about rubber mulch!).
     
  5. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    Forgot to mention that the Texas Red Cedar mulch is at Lowe's. Thanks nudging my memory CM ;)
     



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  6. Kristylea

    Kristylea New Seed

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    Thank you, thank you! Good information. How do I make it neat and pretty?
     
  7. waretrop

    waretrop Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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    We have talked about this before. I respectfully disagree that mulch draws bugs of any kind.

    I have had mine down for 8 years now and I have no bugs in it, around it, or going to it. I do have an area that has a tree stump that was breaking down and very buggy. It's an area we have not done anything with yet and not too far from my front garden. I have sprayed and tried to break down the stump more over the years.

    Those bugs don't go near the mulch that I have put down. In fact, when planting new plants I dig and find beautiful black broken down mulch. It is beautiful actually. What is breaking it down must be microscopic because it certainly isn't carpenter ants or termites.

    I use it for it's the least expensive for you all know how much mulch I use each year. I do live it and it makes it easy to pull weeds if you keep up on them.

    :)
     
  8. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    Insects are drawn to a mulched bed because of the moist environment they find there. They are already in the soil and when they find that environment in a mulched bed, they decide to stay around.

    Most of them do not eat the mulch but if there are termites living underground (and there almost always are) they can be drawn to the moist environment and find the free dinner provided if you use wood chips.

    I find centipedes, a few millipedes, earwigs and ants living in my mulched areas every time I move it to put a plant in the ground in the Spring and late fall if it has been wet. In Summer the mulch is typically too dry for them so they stay underground.
     
  9. marlingardener

    marlingardener Happy

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    Kristylea, you keep the mulch neat and pretty by first putting in some sort of barrier between the grass and the bed. We trench about 6" down all around the bed, and when grass starts to encroach we either pull it or spray it with vinegar (which is an herbicide, so don't get it on desirable plants). You can also install a fiberglass, heavy rubber, or steel barrier, or use paving stones set on edge. These barriers require more upkeep since soil in Texas tends to move.
    Put down about 4" of mulch, keeping it at least 2" away from the stems of plants and shrubs. Then plan on adding more mulch each year, most likely in spring.
    There is no easy-peasy maintenance-free way of keeping a flower bed or vegetable garden neat and pretty. After working with your bed for a while, you'll enjoy messing about with the plants and caring for them. Gardening can be addictive!
     
  10. Kristylea

    Kristylea New Seed

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    OK, what are the thoughts on lava rocks? My friend did an area of his grass in lava rock so he can park his four wheeler on it. But it looks great and neat. I think I want that for my flower bed. What are the pros and cons for lava rocks?

    I am redoing my flower bed and I was advised to use several different things to keep the grass and weeds from coming back. I was told to use some of the following: cardboard, newspapers and carpet. Which would you recommend?
     
  11. Tooty2shoes

    Tooty2shoes Hardy Maple

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    Kristylea I would stay away from the carpet as you can get chemical leaching into the soil from that. Cardboard would probably work the best as it breaks down more slowly than the newspaper.
    I have used both in my garden and I like the cardboard the best.
    Not sure if anyone mentioned Coco bean mulch to use in your flower garden. Of course if you have dogs you would want to avoid it as it can be toxic to them if they ingest it. But I love the smell of Coco bean mulch. Makes one garden smell like Chocolate. :stew1:
     
  12. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    I use cardboard mostly. You can pickup free cardboard boxes at almost any liquor store or check with the stock room manager of a grocery store too they may have several to get rid of. It lasts several years and composts into the soil over time.
    Newspaper doesn't last very long and finding pieces of carpet to use would probably be costly.
     
  13. marlingardener

    marlingardener Happy

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    Cons for lava rocks--weeds will find their way up, and you have to either hand-weed or spray herbicide to get rid of them.
    Pros: none.
    Go with cardboard with a nice-looking natural mulch on top. You will still have to yank up the occasional weed, but your garden will be so much happier and look so much better.
     
  14. Kristylea

    Kristylea New Seed

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    Thank you all! Will post pictures of the finished product.
     
  15. Kristylea

    Kristylea New Seed

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    Well here is the finish product. I will show the trees I planted next week.

    [​IMG]
    ( photo / image / picture from Kristylea's Garden )





    [​IMG]
    ( photo / image / picture from Kristylea's Garden )
     
  16. AbundantBlooms

    AbundantBlooms New Seed

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    That looks neat and tidy! You did a good job applying the mulch in a neat fashion. Boy when I mulch, I make a mess!

    Remember that when you add bark mulch or any new mulch to garden beds with established shrubs, trees, or plants of any kind, to keep the mulch from touching or hugging the bases of the plants. Just a few inches space between the mulch and the trunk(s), stems, and crowns of plants is all you need- you won't even hardly see the gap. The reason for this is because the organic mulch will begin to rot and break down into the soil which is a good thing, but it can sometimes rot and sicken living tissues of shrubs and other plants.

    And just of personal taste here, but some others might find helpful. I prefer to mulch in a way that directly benefits the soil and plants. I like to use materials that break down readily and improve soil and feed the plants. Large, chunky wood mulches of pine and cedar and other similar materials don't break down as fast. They're hard to run a shovel into when you want to work in the garden. And while they look great right out of the bag they discolor in a short order and you end up refreshing them just as often as you do other faster breaking down mulches. In fact, because these mulches don't break down and they discolor fast, if appearances matter you may find yourself pulling away and tossing the mulch and replacing it- which sort of defeats the purpose of mulching really. I prefer to use small shavings of softer hardwood materials like aspen wood, shredded dried grass clippings, and clean compost. They look just as clean and neat, break down into the soil, and are easy to work with when you want to change things up. Weeding is easy in organic mulches- as it's not a painful job to pull, but usually if you do a good job refreshing the mulch often you stifle weeds. The bugs you speak of are normal and in my opinion, welcome. They're part of the breakdown processes in the soil and belong there. :)

    Rock mulches are used a lot more often than they need to be, and over time they become messy. Dust and dirt and leaves make their way on top of the barrier that rock mulches are laid onto, and the rocks hold just enough moisture in them to create the perfect spot for tough weed seeds to sprout and somehow thrive. Then you find yourself either getting in the rocks, pulling the weeds out by hand which is a tough job, or you break out the Roundup chemicals and have at it. Not fun. Rock mulches are great in xeriscaping, french drains, rock gardens, and other limited applications. But, that's just my opinion. On a weird note, I do like looking through fresh rock mulches of river rock and rip rap for Lake Superior agates- as locally quarried stone around here is full of them!


    Anyway, you did a great job! Nice and neat.
     

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