"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

From our city's free mulch web page:

"For example, after leaves are collected at curbside, they are treated and
offered to the public as compost. Holiday trees are sent through a wood
chipper and converted into mulch; a material perfect for flowerbeds or
other landscaping projects (note: mulch is not suitable for vegetable
gardens)."

Why is it not suitable for vegetable gardens?

http://www.cityofrochester.gov/artic...?id=8589936436



"after leaves are collected at curbside, they are _treated_ and offered to
the public as compost. Holiday trees are sent through a wood chipper and
converted into mulch; a material perfect for flowerbeds or other landscaping
projects (note: mulch is not suitable for vegetable gardens). _Scrap wood_
and brush is collected and ground or chipped and returned to residents as
wood chips."

Might have to do with what they mean by "treated", and what kind of "Scrap
wood".
You may want to call and ask.

Many years ago the power company on Long Island, NY (when it was still
LILCO) had a program where they'd give homeowners free mulch (whatever
chipped tree limbs/brush from clearing power lines). They'd send you a
form to sign and return whereby you agree to accept a full 10 cu yd truck
load dumped in your driveway at their convenience, no prior notice when.
Imagine the shock of returning home from grocery shopping and finding a
mountain of chips (actually shredded wood) in your driveway, and I mean a
*mountain*, filled the entire 40' drive and higher than the top of the
garage opening. So it was time to move those shreds, not possible to use a
shovel on those coarse shreds, had to use a pitchfork to fill wheelbarrowful
after wheelbarrowful, took me an entire weekend and I had a heck of a time
trying to find room to put it all, I didn't have a very big property then,
so I kept filling my beds higher and higher. Anyway, that's when I learned
the hard way that free isn't always a great gift, that load of shreds was
filled with a few types of destructive insects including carpenter ants and
tent catapiller nests. I'll never again take free mulch, not even if they
pay me to take it.