"simy1" wrote in message
ps.com...


have you noticed that virtually all plantings in virtually all malls in
America are mulched with wood chips? Wonder why? The chips are free
(tree companies will save money if they dump them on your property
instead of paying for landfill space), they make excellent soil
eventually (far better than topsoil, with good macro and micro nutrient
content, except N), and they last longer than other organic mulches.
You need to order enough to put one foot of chips on the part of the
lot that you intend to cover, so you are looking at tens of cubic yards
which you can spread with a pitchfork, or if the lot is big, by renting
a Bobcat for a weekend. You will be rewarded by many years of low
weeding, low watering, and no fertilizing except for nitrogen (buy a
bag of urea). Call a few tree companies and see if one will dump a
couple trucks in there for you. Because winter is coming, you are
better off doing it now rather than in the spring. If you want free
gourmet food from those chips, as well as something that will turn the
chips into fertilizer faster, please consult www.fungi.com (I do eat
gourmet mushrooms about a dozen times a year).

I think you meant "rake", not pitch fork, which would be like trying to eat
soup with a toothpick.