A concerned fellow gardener pointed out that even the "eco friendly" cypress mulch I was using, might be harvested by clear-cutting this national treasure.I will refrain from using or buying this ever again, I will also make a point of telling people at Home Depot about it. I have also added a link to "Save our Cypress" at the right hand side of this blog.
My local Home Depot sells Eucalyptus mulch and I will buy that instead if I have to.
I also prefer the pine bark nugget mulch as it gives a very good dark textured look. I almost use this exclusively to mulch landscape specimens.
In my quest for alternatives, I have began collecting the "boots" from my own and neighbours Queen Palms. I am also using the "boots" from my back neighbour's Royal Palm trees. To me the result looks quite good, however, a friend wanted to know "why are you putting the palm leaves there" ?I replied, because I need a lot of mulch and I don't have a budget to go and buy it, plus I am saving this from going to the landfill.
I have discovered my neighbours Erythrina variegata tree. Its shedding tons of leaves. I already asked her if I can come and rake it up and she said "knock yourself out". So I plan to go and rake it up and spread it over some of my naked earth beds before her lawn service comes to haul it away.
The harvesting of cypress for mulch is playing a part in our wetlands' destruction. Hurricane Katrina would not have devestated New Orleans if the wetlands surrounding it had not been destroyed. Thanks for spreading the word about cypress mulch.
ReplyDeleteJan
Always Growing
This is great to get the word out. I stopped buying mulch entirely a couple years ago. That's when I learned tree services are glad to bring dump truck loads practically to your front door - for FREE! All they ask is that you be patient because the stuff is like gold and many more people are keeping their trimmings for themselves. It's great if you're not picky about the color or size of chips. I've always been pleased with our piles and usually get a couple loads a year to share with several neighbors. I think some cities may also offer mulch, possibly from utilities clearing limbs from lines and such.
ReplyDeleteI need to start calling some tree services, do you think my previous lawn service company, or the one I see servicing our community might also do this ?
ReplyDelete