| Try your local landscape suppliers - listed in the yellow pages, or ask friendly people at your local nurseries. They can deliver mulch by the cubic metre. You won't need a trailer - they'll just dump it on your drive or lawn, and it is shovel and wheelbarrow time from therein. You might also be able to get something from your local council if they recycle always worth checking. What to choose depends a lot on what you have planted and whether you will be needing to dig again. For example, a lot of the homemaker TV shows use large pebbles these days. It looks funky (if you like that kind of thing) but make things really difficult if you decide to move a plant, or put in more. Likewise its a little hard to spread compost or manure around your plants if there is a layer of permanent pebbles! Plus very expensive. Things like wood chip are a middle option fairly long lasting but not as dramatic OR expensive as pebbles. With delivery, you are probably looking at anywhere between $70 and $100 per cubic metre, depending on where you get it. Finally the more organic options like sugar cane, lucerne etc are worth looking at. They are cheaper but won't last as long (such is the trade off I guess!) But they add nutrients to your soil as they break down, and you have far better flexibility to move plants, put in new ones etc. If you are worried about weeds popping through, a few layers of newspaper underneath really helps. You can bring it home a few bales at a time, or some of the larger centres will lend or hire a trailer to you. If you are just starting out in this garden, Id reckon this is the best option for now. It is the cheapest and most flexible, and will improve your soil. Then you can always go for something more permanent in a year or two. |
