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What's the best mulch?
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Posted by goldhills via Gympie, Qld (My Page) on Sun, Oct 2, 05 at 21:25
| What do you consider the best mulch to use on a large scale that doesn't cost a fortune?
At first we used to rake up leaves from under the trees in the paddock but the garden has grown too big. We have used cane mulch and were happy with that. Last time we couldn't get cane so just used a grassy mulch hay (seedless). That does the job ok but was hard to spread around smaller plants - long strands of grass. What does everyone else use or recommend? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: What's the best mulch?
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| Do you know any tree loppers because if they have to pay to dump their chippings they will usually give it away free. I am very lucky as I get 32 square metres a huge furniture van size free every year as one of my neighbours works for a tree lopper. Other than that its the rounds of sugar cane mulch but on a grand scale even that can be expensive ...Cheers..MM. |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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Lucerne Hay.
I get it from a grower we know and he keeps some when the hay is wet after cutting, sells it for $2 a bale and boy does the garden love it.
Sometimes if it is too wet it gets a bit of mould but that is no problem really.
You have to wait for it to rain at the right time though.
Marion |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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| I've just mulched new native beds with lucerne - and I'd agree with Marion in giving it my top vote. It is economical and easier to spread than sugar cane (though be sure to wear a mask or you'll be blowing your nose for a week, and ... well ... it ain't pretty!) And it is great for the soil - I've been using it for some time now, in combination with cow manure, my soil is now going nuts. |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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| yes spoilt luceren hay mulch or slashed pasture grass mulch most can be had around this are your area for $2.50 to #3.50 a bale. or get around with a rake and trailer and rake up some of the roadside slashed grass consider safety ie.,. not recommended along the highway verge. or look for someone who has had their paddocks slashed and go rake some of that you'll get that free. me i rake what i slash on my place reckon that sort of stuff makes the best mulch, you may have to go get it or it could cost a bit more to have it come to you? check the bulletin boards around the place there is usually someone somewhere offering good priced deals the iga & coles boards in particular. len mail len lens garden page |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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| I have read some times ago on one of these forums that palm fronds are the best. I have about 10 palms and spend a lot of time cutting them up. The mulcher is only good on really dry ones so I take a stool outside and sit and cut till my fingers get too sore! |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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| !WoW! Talk about liquid Gold I wonder just how much it costs to transport Spoilt Lucerne to the southern suburbs of Brissie as I had been paying $8:95 a bale for the mouldy stuff and that was before petrol went up, any wonder we started buying rounds of Sugar Cane Mulch at $15 a round I would reckons there would be more than 20 bales in it, a lot more economical even if lucerne is better for the soil, here is only for the rich... And Dutchie when I live north of Townsville we used to go to tip every monday and being back all the palm fonds in the ute and do just what you are doing a wonderful idea..Cheers..MM. |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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| We prefer barley straw. It is softer than lucerne, pea or wheaten straw so easier to handle, and the worms just love it. It seems to absorb more water and doesn't leave sticks when it rots down. Really though, the best mulch is the stuff you can get cheaply and easily. Robyn |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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| Paid $20/bale here in Sydney for lucerne and it was spoilt - ie got wet when the local produce store was storing it! Found it difficult to accept, seeing as I spent many years of my youth baling lucerne and lifting it onto trucks. But, if you really want it....... I use the lucerne bales for my no-dig gardening and use sugar cane mulch for mulching the beds. |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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| I'd ideally like to use lucerne mulch but it is far too expensive on a large scale. MM, you're very lucky. I love using mulched tree trimmings and used to use that at a previous house but we would have to buy it now and it isn't cheap. Used to be able to get it free but seems to be getting popular now so the loppers usually sell it. The last time we raked up leaves, etc from our gully it took a full morning of raking to do about an eighth of the garden and we only have one day a week to do it so we would spend all our spare time raking instead of doing more interesting stuff in the garden. The last lot of grassy hay was hard to get apart and spread around small plants as the strands were long and tightly packed. When you are bent over under trees, on a slope it makes it very difficult to spread. We buy 6 large round bales at a time, each round bale is approx 1.5m tall and same wide and roughly equals 20-25 smaller rect bales. Usually costs between $100 and $150 delivered. Our poor old ute can only manage 1 bale at a time. So far the easiest was cane mulch so might have to stick to that. The trees are getting up in height and are starting to drop enough leaves to make their own mulch but not quite enough to stop weeds yet. Out of curiosity, what does everyone think of the various bark mulches? I'm not keen on them as they don't feed the soil. The only good thing about them seems to be that they last longer. Has anyone found one that they like? |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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G, would it be possible to concoct some sort of temporary protection device for the small plants as you mulch? Like an upside down heavier bucket, or a small circle of weldmesh??
I would kill for some of that spoiled lucerne. I do bring back bags of yard manure mixed with hay trampings from visits to Rocky and use that as a mulch; doesn't go far enough though and labour intensive bagging it up. The pigeon pea plantation provides some leaf litter when it's cut back. IF the mulcher was operative, I'd probably grow heaps more for that purpose when dh wasn't looking. |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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| I use whatever I can lay my hands on. I use seaweed, sheep manure, tree prunnings, grass clippings, newspapers. The thing is I am on an average suburban block so I do not need as much mulch as you do . The house is small, they did not built these huge mansions few decades ago so I have about 20m by 20m at the back and 17 by 12 m at the front. It is true that tree bark does not have many nutrients but it provides organic matter and enriches soil in that way. |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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| yes rose exactly, i cut the bottoms out of 1 & 2 gallon planter pots the plastic kind of course and use these around plants to keep the mulch away. still back my pasture grass mulch against sugar cane mulch any day. plus up here a hundred bucks is going to get somewhere between 40 & 50 bails if my maths is right, i've seen notices on the bulletin boards acdvertising for as little as $11.50 a bail plus delivery. but there is a lot of slashing occuring at the moment so the availabilty of mulch hay will be getting very good. also found that the planter pots protect the young plants from winds and must do other things because plants just seem to grow quicker then when left unprotected. len |
RE: What's the best mulch?
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| Like Mistymorn, I'm lucky enough to have an almost continuous mulch supply of chipped up trees through my partner. I find it easier to handle than grass/hay-type mulches as it is easier to position around plants. I spread liberally around plants and then scrape away about a hand width from the trunks. I have 2 conditions though: 1) no walnut or willow, and, 2) must have a reasonable amount of leaf matter in it. I spread well-composted manure (sheep or horse) down first with a light sprinkling of B&B and then mulch over the top. Good luck,
GF |
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