I have always like your hat and your personality, roger.
I mulched for decades in Venice, and never had such visible mold, or rarely - at the same time the mulch did gradually decompose. Venice is weird in that it's dryer than a lot of other locations in the US - we used mulch in part to keep water from evaporating immediately - but our area was also in the coastal fog belt. This bit about not overloading the mulch was to have some level of aeration going on. Ah, but I do believe UVA knows a thing or two - RJB, how thick is their thickest mulch? That might depend on what size the chips are too, re aeration, as you said.
@Rockhead,
even plain ol' ants seem to like to get into hardwood . i do find the odd ant in the cedar mulch , but i've noticed that they are trying to escape when i top up the cedar mulch . i imagine something similar to pine-oil is repugnant to them .
if i leave a bag of cedar mulch open , i've never had a problem with ants wanting to overwinter in it .
i guess that's why there are cedar-chests : keep insects out .
hbg
cedar mulch seeme to get the "green thumb up " .
http://www.greenthumbarticles.com/article/The-Benefits-of-Cedar-Mulch-a354.html
it's a bit hilarious imo :
meeting on the cedar-mulch trail ... ...
hbg
So great to see Gussie Galore back at a2k..
On mulch, if I ever get rid of my #%@&&^* layer of stones in this yard - they take up any room I might use for mulch/compost - I'll be mulching with somewhat bigger chips than I'm used to, as this is Windville, USA.
Gus, I hope everything is ok!
@littlek,
That's what I was hoping. Thanks littlek! Very helpful.
Thanks everyone else too!
And a Gus sighting! Whoo-hoo! <gives Gus a giant hug>
@roger,
It's not walnut... just hardwood that has, I guess, been dyed.
Oh and while I'm hugging I have to include hbg... it's been a while, nice to have you back too. (((hbg)))
@ossobuco,
I (or rather my yard-guys) spread about 2-3" every year or two. UVA spreads it under the entire crown of the tree. Not just for a few feet from the trunk. I am following that example and gradually am starting to widen the beds where the big boxwood and other hedges are growing.
In Maryland, we use primarily a hardwood double shredded mulch. The total mulch depth should be no more than 3" thick in any given area. Before any new mulch is added to an area, take a hard tined rake and break up last years mulch layer to help with aerating and then add the new layer of mulch to the proper thickness. Piling mulch deeper than 3" creates several bad scenarios. First, it will harden and crust because it is too thick to let moisture and air penetrate. Once it crusts, it sets up up the ideal habitat for termites and other insects. Without the ability for oxygen and moisture to penetrate the mulch the decomposition process comes to a halt and thats why it crusts. Buy your mulch from a trusted source also. The mulch from the landfill is usually free or very cheap but you also get what you pay for too. Cheap quality mulch!! With no regards to ph levels, moisture content, or length of composting time before it is sold or given to the public. Hope this helps.
@treeman,
That is helpful, thanks treeman!
