Christmas tree mulch
 

One of the local tree lots mulched the left overs and left them for anyone to pick up. I brought home few five-gallon buckets. I didn't see the trees, but most likely fir and cedar from the smell.

The plan was to spread it around flower & veg gardens, and maybe over some newly seeded parts of the yard.

Any comments about where to use or not use this?

Christmas tree mulch
 

Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
One of the local tree lots mulched the left overs and left them for anyone to pick up. I brought home few five-gallon buckets. I didn't see the trees, but most likely fir and cedar from the smell.

The plan was to spread it around flower & veg gardens, and maybe over some newly seeded parts of the yard.

Any comments about where to use or not use this?

a thin layer on top of the soil should be ok for
most perennial gardens. blueberries would probably
like it.

once you spread it out and it dries it will
season (the harshest oils/resins) will evaporate.

i dunno if it would be strong enough to prevent
seeds from sprouting.

the thicker the layer the more potential for
trouble, but my gardens could use a lot of organic
matter and also i need more elevation so i tend to
bury anything i can get my hands on under gardens
and then let nature digest it for a few years
before i dig it up again to use it. bacteria,
fungi, worms and other soil critters can do their
thing. :)

if it is free for the taking and you have a
truck you can always bring it home and set up a
compost pile set up to use it.

if you are really adventurous you can read the
humanure handbook (freely available online) and
start dry composting your poo/pee for the gardens.
in a year or two you'll have the best stuff ever!


songbird

Christmas tree mulch
 

On 7/11/2016 5:53 PM, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
One of the local tree lots mulched the left overs and left them for
anyone to pick up. I brought home few five-gallon buckets. I
didn't see the trees, but most likely fir and cedar from the
smell.

The plan was to spread it around flower & veg gardens, and maybe
over some newly seeded parts of the yard.

Any comments about where to use or not use this?


Where I live, tree trimming services and municipal yard waste
collection sites provided shredded tree mulch free for the taking. It
tends to rot down very quickly indeed, never lasting beyond a single
growing season. For that reason I don't find it useful as an
ornamental mulch, but it's fine in the annual or vegetable gardens,
where what little remains at the end of the season can be tilled in.

You don't want anything too coarse for using over grass seed - if the
pieces are too large and heavy, the grass seedlings would not be able
to push it aside. So inspect it and use your judgement. You needn't
worry about small amounts of mulch changing the soil pH; it usually
takes regular use of such materials over time before there's a
noticeable effect on pH.

Christmas tree mulch
 

"Moe DeLoughan" wrote in message ...
On 7/11/2016 5:53 PM, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
One of the local tree lots mulched the left overs and left them for
anyone to pick up. I brought home few five-gallon buckets. I
didn't see the trees, but most likely fir and cedar from the
smell.

The plan was to spread it around flower & veg gardens, and maybe
over some newly seeded parts of the yard.

Any comments about where to use or not use this?


Where I live, tree trimming services and municipal yard waste
collection sites provided shredded tree mulch free for the taking. It
tends to rot down very quickly indeed, never lasting beyond a single
growing season. For that reason I don't find it useful as an
ornamental mulch, but it's fine in the annual or vegetable gardens,
where what little remains at the end of the season can be tilled in.

You don't want anything too coarse for using over grass seed - if the
pieces are too large and heavy, the grass seedlings would not be able
to push it aside. So inspect it and use your judgement. You needn't
worry about small amounts of mulch changing the soil pH; it usually
takes regular use of such materials over time before there's a
noticeable effect on pH.

Thanks sb & md. Good to hear about it breaking down as well. That's even bettre. I was glad to run across this lot - mulch is getting pricey these days.

Christmas tree mulch
 

Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
....
Thanks sb & md. Good to hear about it breaking down as well. That's even bettre. I was glad to run across this lot - mulch is getting pricey these days.

i grow it (chop and drop) and some friends bring
me stuff from their firewood splitting and leaf
raking. i give them veggies in return. working
out well so far. :)


songbird

Christmas tree mulch
 

On Monday, July 11, 2016 at 6:54:38 PM UTC-4, Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney wrote:
One of the local tree lots mulched the left overs and left them for anyone to pick up. I brought home few five-gallon buckets. I didn't see the trees, but most likely fir and cedar from the smell.

The plan was to spread it around flower & veg gardens, and maybe over some newly seeded parts of the yard.

Any comments about where to use or not use this?

I sure wouldn't put wood chip type mulch over newly seeded grass.
It's typically used to *prevent* plants like weeds and grass from
growing. For that use, it should be fine.