i was wondering what kind of mulch people here use. i am considering putting coloured cedar bark (black) on the areas of our flowerbeds that i redid. i have never added mulch to the beds before. i have surfed the net and googled and a lot of places say that some cedar and pine mulchs can affect your flowering shrubs, some of the flowers, as well as taking nitrogen out of the soil.
if anyone can help me on this i would greatly appreciate any input.
thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. cyaaa, sockiescat.

"sockiescat" wrote in message
...

i was wondering what kind of mulch people here use. i am considering
putting coloured cedar bark (black) on the areas of our flowerbeds
that
i redid. i have never added mulch to the beds before. i have surfed
the
net and googled and a lot of places say that some cedar and pine
mulchs
can affect your flowering shrubs, some of the flowers, as well as
taking
nitrogen out of the soil.
if anyone can help me on this i would greatly appreciate any input.
thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. cyaaa, sockiescat.

I drive about 3 miles to a county trash transfer station. They have 1
huge pile of mulch and depending in what area of the pile I dig, it's
different colors and textures. A hundred feed away is an equally huge
compost pile, and again, depending on where I get it, it can be fine
or course, but always great. The cost of either by the bag or by the
truck load - 0 nada nothing zip
Maybe you trash service has something similar, then all you do is add
fertilizer as needed.

Tom J

sockiescat wrote:
i was wondering what kind of mulch people here use. i am considering
putting coloured cedar bark (black) on the areas of our flowerbeds that
i redid. i have never added mulch to the beds before. i have surfed the
net and googled and a lot of places say that some cedar and pine mulchs
can affect your flowering shrubs, some of the flowers, as well as taking
nitrogen out of the soil.
if anyone can help me on this i would greatly appreciate any input.
thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. cyaaa, sockiescat.

I use the leaves from my ash, oak, zelkova, and liquidambar trees. It
takes only a thin layer to keep the soil cool and moist in the summer
and to retard (but not completely prevent) weeds. I keep adding to this
each fall. In areas where the wind sometimes scours away the mulch, I
add small branches that have fallen out of the trees; these help to hold
the leaves in place.

For potted plants in large containers, I use a decorative white rock.

--

David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/

Concerned about someone (e.g., Pres. Bush) snooping
into your E-mail? Use PGP.
See my http://www.rossde.com/PGP/

sockiescat wrote:

i was wondering what kind of mulch people here use. i am considering
putting coloured cedar bark (black) on the areas of our flowerbeds that
i redid. i have never added mulch to the beds before. i have surfed the
net and googled and a lot of places say that some cedar and pine mulchs
can affect your flowering shrubs, some of the flowers, as well as taking
nitrogen out of the soil.

Mulch will only take out nitrogen if it is not fully composted. Bark has

the advantage of looking nicer and breaking down slower. It can be a
problem scattering over your beds and lawn, and I don't think it is as
effective in giving nutrients to the surrounding plants, as say a leaf
mulch.

Sherwin D.


if anyone can help me on this i would greatly appreciate any input.
thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. cyaaa, sockiescat.

--
sockiescat

sockiescat wrote:

i was wondering what kind of mulch people here use. i am considering
putting coloured cedar bark (black) on the areas of our flowerbeds that
i redid. i have never added mulch to the beds before. i have surfed the
net and googled and a lot of places say that some cedar and pine mulchs
can affect your flowering shrubs, some of the flowers, as well as taking
nitrogen out of the soil.
if anyone can help me on this i would greatly appreciate any input.
thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. cyaaa, sockiescat.

Personally, I can't see the wisdom of using artificially colored bark. Why
not use artificial plants, too?

True, the shredded cedar bark I use in the visible areas of some of my beds
isn't exactly the most natural looking thing, either, but that's where I've
chosen to draw the line: Bark mulch with no artificial coloring.

In my tomato garden I use red plastic sheet mulch. But it's there for
function, not to be pretty.

There are also places that I use leaf mould. (I always have plenty.) And
there are other places that I use steer manure. I make my own compost as
well, but I've been generally using it as a soil amendment in areas where
I'm building new beds, or refurbishing old beds.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Compare and buy TaxCut and TurboTax Softwa
http://www.holzemville.com/taxes/

On Sun, 29 Jan 2006 21:21:06 +0000
sockiescat wrote:


i was wondering what kind of mulch people here use. i am considering
putting coloured cedar bark (black) on the areas of our flowerbeds that
i redid. i have never added mulch to the beds before. i have surfed the
net and googled and a lot of places say that some cedar and pine mulchs
can affect your flowering shrubs, some of the flowers, as well as taking
nitrogen out of the soil.
if anyone can help me on this i would greatly appreciate any input.
thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. cyaaa, sockiescat.


Shredded Flax. It's cheap, decorative, stays in place, is neutral
and adds good soil structure when decomposed.

Colored bark is pretty garish, might look better with plastic flowers.
Also, won't black raise the soil temperature?

I have one bed that I use pine bark, but it's a real pain with
the strimmer. I also do use some leaf mould, which is arguably
the best solution, but I find it's a little less neat looking than I
like around trees.

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies

"sockiescat" wrote in message
...

i was wondering what kind of mulch people here use. i am considering
putting coloured cedar bark (black) on the areas of our flowerbeds that
i redid. i have never added mulch to the beds before. i have surfed the
net and googled and a lot of places say that some cedar and pine mulchs
can affect your flowering shrubs, some of the flowers, as well as taking
nitrogen out of the soil.
if anyone can help me on this i would greatly appreciate any input.
thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. cyaaa, sockiescat.


--
sockiescat

For some reason, colored mulch gets uglier about every 30 minutes, and it
seems to have a half-life roughly equal to plutonium's. There are so many
better options. Avoid bark chunks, too. Depending on the prevailing winds,
it sometimes blows right out of the beds when it's dry. You'll be forever
picking up the chunks and tossing them back into the beds. Shredded bark
tends to mat down and stay put.

Cedar bark can look a bit too perfect when it's new, but it weathers to a
duller color in a matter of weeks, and looks pretty much neutral. Blends
with any colors it's near. Leaves from your own trees can work well, too,
although they stay put better if you run the mower over them to chop them a
bit. If you have a bag attachment for you mower, you can get a nice blend of
leaves & grass to use as mulch. But, avoid using leaves if you have any
trees with persistent disease problems. Those leaves should be bagged and
discarded.

I get natural color shredded cyprus. it doesnt break down as fast as others and
looks good much longer. Ingrid

sockiescat wrote:


i was wondering what kind of mulch people here use. i am considering
putting coloured cedar bark (black) on the areas of our flowerbeds that
i redid. i have never added mulch to the beds before. i have surfed the
net and googled and a lot of places say that some cedar and pine mulchs
can affect your flowering shrubs, some of the flowers, as well as taking
nitrogen out of the soil.
if anyone can help me on this i would greatly appreciate any input.
thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. cyaaa, sockiescat.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for
any of the recommendations I make.
AND I DID NOT AUTHORIZE ADS AT THE OLD PUREGOLD SITE

Which is why we mistakenly nitrolize mulch. Using a mulch over beds as
David has done would not "rob" nitrogen. Some of us use high quality
finished compost at the soil interface and then top with a layer of
1"-3" shredded and partially composted "mulch"(landscape waste). I
call it the forest floor concept. Kicking up hte biology with some
humates and liquid organics produces a very rich microbially active
soil. The nitrogen fixing is a natural part of this process and
nothing is robbed.




On Mon, 30 Jan 2006 00:31:36 -0600, sherwindu
wrote:

Mulch will only take out nitrogen if it is not fully composted

Hi Warren,
Just curious where you get your steer manure. It's almost impossible to
find here
in the north Chicago suburbs, ever since Tex-Mex went out of business.

Sherwin D.

Warren wrote:

sockiescat wrote:

i was wondering what kind of mulch people here use. i am considering
putting coloured cedar bark (black) on the areas of our flowerbeds that
i redid. i have never added mulch to the beds before. i have surfed the
net and googled and a lot of places say that some cedar and pine mulchs
can affect your flowering shrubs, some of the flowers, as well as taking
nitrogen out of the soil.
if anyone can help me on this i would greatly appreciate any input.
thanks everyone for taking the time to answer. cyaaa, sockiescat.

Personally, I can't see the wisdom of using artificially colored bark. Why
not use artificial plants, too?

True, the shredded cedar bark I use in the visible areas of some of my beds
isn't exactly the most natural looking thing, either, but that's where I've
chosen to draw the line: Bark mulch with no artificial coloring.

In my tomato garden I use red plastic sheet mulch. But it's there for
function, not to be pretty.

There are also places that I use leaf mould. (I always have plenty.) And
there are other places that I use steer manure. I make my own compost as
well, but I've been generally using it as a soil amendment in areas where
I'm building new beds, or refurbishing old beds.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Compare and buy TaxCut and TurboTax Softwa
http://www.holzemville.com/taxes/

sherwindu wrote:
Hi Warren,
Just curious where you get your steer manure. It's almost impossible to
find here
in the north Chicago suburbs, ever since Tex-Mex went out of business.


Here in Oregon, it's everywhere. (Whoops. Just stepped in some.)

But seriously, it's at Home Depot, Lowes, Fred Meyers, Wilco... and those
are just the places I've bought it at. I would be surprised to find a garden
center that doesn't have any. Last year,

If you want, I could box up a couple of bags and FedEx it to you. It usually
comes in plastic bags, but since they have small vent holes and most stores
have it stacked outside, it's going to be pretty heavy this time of the
year! So even if those 2-cubic foot bags are still just 98-cents, I think
the shipping charge would be pretty high.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Compare and buy TaxCut and TurboTax Softwa
http://www.holzemville.com/taxes/

Warren,

We have Home Depot, etc., here in the North Suburbs of Chicago, but I have never

seen 'Steer Manure', except for one nursery who carried the Tex-Mex product. I
don't know what you have in Oregon, but this stuff came from Texas where the
steers were allowed to roam on free range. It had an analysis of 5-5-5, I
believe.
Some of what I see here is only 1-1-1. There is supposed to be another company
call Botex (not sure of spelling), but that also is nowheres to be found around
here.

Sherwin

sherwindu Warren,

We have Home Depot, etc., here in the North Suburbs of Chicago, but I have never

seen 'Steer Manure', except for one nursery who carried the Tex-Mex product. I
don't know what you have in Oregon, but this stuff came from Texas where the
steers were allowed to roam on free range. It had an analysis of 5-5-5, I
believe.
Some of what I see here is only 1-1-1. There is supposed to be another company
call Botex (not sure of spelling), but that also is nowheres to be found around
here.

Sherwin





thanks everyone for your responses i am going to add mulch to these beds like i said i have never done these two main flowerbeds before. why i dont know i have done a few other areas using cedar mulch where i have mostly flowers but not these two beds i was always afraid to lol. i guess the main reason i hesitated last fall was because some sites on the net said that cedar and some other mulches affect flowering shrubs thats my main concern we used to have upright junipers and cedars. when we took those out we put in wisteria vines, silver lace vine, weigelia, burning bush, spirea, harlequin euonymous, potentilla and a few other flowering shrubs. i guess i worry to much.
thanks again for all your help i know with the insight u have all been kind enough to give me i will make the right decisions.
thanks again, sockiescat.

sherwindu wrote:
Warren,

We have Home Depot, etc., here in the North Suburbs of Chicago, but I have
never
seen 'Steer Manure', except for one nursery who carried the Tex-Mex
product. I
don't know what you have in Oregon, but this stuff came from Texas where
the
steers were allowed to roam on free range. It had an analysis of 5-5-5, I
believe.
Some of what I see here is only 1-1-1. There is supposed to be another
company
call Botex (not sure of spelling), but that also is nowheres to be found
around
here.


I took a trip to my local Home Depot today. The composted steer manure, as
well as the composted chicken manure are in bags carrying the MiricleGro
brand name. I didn't really feel like getting my hands dirty to see if there
was any information of the source.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Compare and buy TaxCut and TurboTax Softwa
http://www.holzemville.com/taxes/

In article , sockiescat
wrote:

sherwindu Warren,

We have Home Depot, etc., here in the North Suburbs of Chicago, but
Ihave never

seen 'Steer Manure', except for one nursery who carried the Tex-Mexproduct. I
don't know what you have in Oregon, but this stuff came from Texaswhere the
steers were allowed to roam on free range. It had an analysis of5-5-5, I
believe.
Some of what I see here is only 1-1-1. There is supposed to be anothercompany
call Botex (not sure of spelling), but that also is nowheres to befound around
here.

Sherwin

I really like sterile steer manure as a mulch because it looks like rich
black soil but it does suppress weeds quite nicely. Although the nitrogen
& other nutrient levels are very low any sterilized fully composted
manure, when used as a topcoating & kept at least a little moist, it
excites microbial activity in the soil which is the real source of the
nutrients plants actually use, & that's healthier than artificially
structured fertilizers some of which interfer with rather than enhance
microorganism activity.

-paghat the ratgirl

thanks everyone for your responses i am going to add mulch to thesebeds
like i said i have never done these two main flowerbeds before.why i dont
know i have done a few other areas using cedar mulch where ihave mostly
flowers but not these two beds i was always afraid to lol. iguess the main
reason i hesitated last fall was because some sites onthe net said that
cedar and some other mulches affect flowering shrubsthats my main concern
we used to have upright junipers and cedars. whenwe took those out we put
in wisteria vines, silver lace vine, weigelia,burning bush, spirea,
harlequin euonymous, potentilla and a few otherflowering shrubs. i guess i
worry to much.
thanks again for all your help i know with the insight u have all
beenkind enough to give me i will make the right decisions.
thanks again,sockiescat.-- sockiescat
--
Get your Paghat the Ratgirl T-Shirt he
http://www.paghat.com/giftshop.html
"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to
liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot." -Thomas Jefferson