Mulch question

Forums: Gardening, Mulch, Decomposition
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OK first, I am a terrible person and a bad gardener. Now that that's out of the way, I've had bags of mulch since May but haven't done anything with them yet.

I've been dithering for a few reasons but one is that I've put down mulch in previous years and it's still there. Not everywhere, but in two main places it's quite thick and just doesn't seem to need more. In one part at least when I broke through to plant some stuff there was white, moldy-looking stuff on the underside (nearest the soil) -- I don't know if it's actually mold or if it's just part of the decomposition process.

My questions:

- Should I remove the mulch entirely and start fresh?
- Should I like stir it up a bit? In the part I'm thinking of it seems to have created a pretty solid layer which seems good in terms of weeds and bad in terms of decomposition.
- Should I leave it and just sprinkle some new mulch on top?
- Should I leave that part alone and only address areas where the mulch is gone/ has decomposed?

Thanks!

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Type: Question • Score: 8 • Views: 3,436 • Replies: 33

[+3] - littlek - 07/18/2009Mold is a decomposer (I'm not sure why some people seem so anxious to get rid of it). So, it is mold AND it is part of the process. One reason to use mulch is to add nutrients back into the soil....

View best answer, chosen by sozobe

@sozobe,

what kinda mulch are you using?

(cypress, cedar, pine bark?)

1 Reply

@Rockhead,

dark hardwood mulch

3 Replies

@sozobe,

i believe hardwood mulch is likely to get moldy and rot .
as rockhead posted , cedar , pine might be better - but you should probably "stir up " any kind of mulch occasionally .
have used cedar mulch for many years and haven't seen any mold .
a neighbour has picked up free mulch from the city yard : mulched maple - poplar ... and it gets quite moldy - even slimy .
doesn't seem very good .
hbg

0 Replies

@sozobe,

I'm no expert. I garden to relax, but I think hbg is right on the hardwoods. (i like to burn them or make furniture from them)

gram has hard clay soil where she is, versus my sandy riverbottom soil, and she gets mold sometimes in the spring. I pull the moldy deteriorated stuff out and re-mulch when the ground dries out.

I wonder about termites and such with the hardwood as well. I use the cypress for the color, and because it is supposed to be termite unfriendly.

2 Replies

@Rockhead,

I've been quiet since most of my experience is in drier areas than yours, soz - though even in humboldt county I didn't have trouble with mold and mulch (some trouble with mold otherwise, though, on one side of my house for example -- but I didn't mulch over there).

I've never used hardwood mulch or specified it for others, but I'll nod that that could be the problem, or part of it. Soil composition make sense re the drainage issues Rockhead is talking about, too.

I'll add that I've always liked something like 2.5 to 3 inches of mulch, never more than 3.5; that's also enough to keep sunlight from helping weeds grow.

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Mold is a decomposer (I'm not sure why some people seem so anxious to get rid of it). So, it is mold AND it is part of the process. One reason to use mulch is to add nutrients back into the soil. The mulch needs to decompose to do that. Think of the bottom layer as compost.

I'd add a good depth of mulch where you have lost last years layer. And because the color of the new mulch will be different than the color of the old mulch, I'd sprinkle a little on top of the deeper layer to maintain a continuous appearance.

1 Reply

@sozobe,

I love it when you talk like that.

1 Reply

@gustavratzenhofer,

GUS!

0 Replies

I am speaking to Sozobe, regarding the exciting language, and not littlek, but, and I mean this in all seriousness.... Littlek does it just as much for me as Soz.

Bank it.

1 Reply

@gustavratzenhofer,

We can tell you were speaking to Soz.....

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I have missed you, littlek.

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I use shredded hardwood which I buy by the truckload (8 or 10 cubic yards). Most of the trees I am mulching are hardwoods, but even the conifers seem happy. I have not had the mold issue you cite, Soz, even though we are having a surprisingly wet summer. I haven't looked at the stuff Lowe's sells. I wonder if it is too finely shredded and so doesn't get a chance to breathe.
The East to West drought line is now well above the VA-NC border. I take my cue from UVA which is mulching pretty deeply and then planting low ground cover and flower bulbs.

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Why does JohnnyBoy insist on sliding between the sheets?

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Miss you too, Gus.

0 Replies

My life has become the perfect storm, k. Almost too much for me to bear.

How are things with you?

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@sozobe,

Dark hardwood mulch? I don't know exactly what that is, but I'm very leery of using anything involving walnut in a garden. The husks from the walnut contain something that eliminates competition from other plants. That is, it kills them. I'm not sure if the wood and leaves contain the same compound, or not.

I like littlek's answer, by the way. Eventually, a good mulch should become compost.

Mulch question

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