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38Chevy454 · 05-05-2020, 06:34 PM

I'm about 1 week ahead of you Ray. Same here with mulching in spring. Also my DW loves planting. So I have been doing lot of digging in addition to the mulch. The ground here is such clay content that I dig out approximately twice the size and backfill with good topsoil. So resulting in hauling dirt and mulch around the yard, all 2.5 acres and probably 500 feet of planting beds. DW does help some, but I do most of the heavy work. Wish it would warm up more, it's been a wetter and colder than normal spring.

Ronstar · 05-05-2020, 07:13 PM

I'm ordering 12 yards of mulch in a couple of weeks. I plan to spread it over several days so that I won't overdo it.

Winemaker · 05-05-2020, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by splitwdw

There are three possibilities, artillery fungi, zero turn mowers or who dyed the mulch. A couple of years ago a neighbor had black mulch put down. The "landscape" company that did the landscaping got him a good deal on the mulch. Where they touched the white siding to stand back up after spreading the mulch behind shrubs you could see black marks on the siding. He finally got most of it off using a pressure washer. You can still see it in spots on the siding. He can't weed without wearing gloves because the dye from the mulch dyes his hands. Even with that mulch finally rotting away the soil on the tops of those beds has a layer of black. The white siding has a black film every year that needs to be pressure washed. He's having the top soil in his beds removed. The farm where the original black mulch came from was only open for mulch sales that year.
Artillery fungi grow in the mulch and when they mature they shoot their spores on bright/light colored surfaces. They can shoot as high as the second floor. It starts out looking like little black flecks on the siding.
Zero turn mowers are more common now and if you've ever used one you know how far they can throw material and dust. A neighbor that lives through the woods from me asked if I could take more care when mowing in late summer when the soil dries out around the wood line or I'm mulching piles of leaves. Turns out that even though his house is a good distance from me through the woods the dust that my zero turn kicks up can coat his house and any clothes that he is line drying. I try to stay out of the dry soil areas and only mulch when the wind isn't blowing in his direction. He lets me know when he's line drying clothes. He's a great neighbor and I don't mind accommodating him.

Thanks for reply/answer. I put the mulch down around the house with a wheelbarrow; the first two levels are stone. The 2 upper floors in the front of the house are the areas affected. No zero turn mowers, I use a 21" self propelled mower at mom's. But I didn't know about artillery fungi, but the mulched beds are not aerated by the mower, as there is a walkway around the mulched beds and that is lined by a 2 foot hedge. But summers are extremely humid here in SW PA, and I suspect some kind of critter is marking up the house.

jazz4cash · 05-06-2020, 06:06 AM

So what do you folks pay for bulk mulch and what’s the breakdown between product and delivery? It’s cheaper by the bag around here unless you use the premium stuff. I like cypress blend because it lasts longer than anything else I’ve tried and I like the natural color. I can only find it in bags.

I took 26 yards of free aged wood chips from a local tree service once. Wheelbarrowed it myself to dress a garden path. Other times I took truckloads of green chips as a coarse dressing to smother weeds.

Ger0n1mo · 05-06-2020, 06:25 AM

I put down 8 yards of mulch a few weeks ago in SW PA. I have always purchased bulk mulch and most of the time have it delivered. You can save a bunch by picking it up in your own truck but of course it took me several trips. I was surprised when I ordered it this year that the lady really pushed me for using dyed. I have always just used the natural (not dyed) double-shredded and pleased with it. The lady acted like very few of their customers order non-dyed nowadays.

My DS ordered 80 bags from Home Depot and said he liked it better than using a wheel barrow and shoveling. But, he had the help of his wife and kids.

madsquopper · 05-07-2020, 08:33 AM

Every other year we have 10 cubic yards of leaf (not wood) mulch delivered to supplement what I grind up in the fall. Most of it goes in the wooded area and it's a challenge hauling it over the granite block terraces we built 25 years ago when we moved in. Takes us a couple of days to spread it around the yard. Here's two photos from this spring.