FarmI wrote:
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
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?

They are saying that it is the tree mulch that isn't suitable. Chipped wood
from trees will cause nitrogen drawdown in a veg bed. The compost should be
fine if used in a veg bed.

OK, not knowing anything about this, but needing some mulch, I'm
interested.

http://www.au.gardenweb.com/forums/l...494722956.html

"Nitrogen draw down as a result of spreading green mulch only occurs if
you mix it through the soil and then plant into it. Spreading it over
the soil surface is unlikely to cause any problems."

I was just thinking of getting some "free mulch" from the chipper
piles around the city, to trim out the non planted areas of the garden.
I'm thinking this will be OK. On another note, I have a lot of pinestraw
(pine needles), any issues with that (the bottom of the piles might be
moldy)?

The alternative would be some bags of commercial mulch which appears
to be either pine bark or shredded trees.

Another alternative is spreading out some of the red georgia clay
that I dug out (you could probably make pots out of this stuff). I
suppose if I spread out some weed block underneath, or even if I didn't,
nothing would grow there!

Jeff