Long lasting Mulch recommendation?
Question:I'm looking for mulch , but not sure which one is good in term of colour, long lasting and weed control. where can i get them at the cheapest price? Thank you!
Answers:
Mulches depend on your area. In the NW we get ceder or fir bark mulches very readily as well as nut hulls and fertile mulch, a compost of manure and saw dust. Bark mulches come is several grades depending on the seize of the chunks. Our bark is rather red, the fertile is dark brown the nuts are filbert so are a nice red-brown. Other regions nearby get pine bark. Bagged mulches can be cocoa bean hulls, or gravel, & lava rock.
For weed control layer newspaper under the mulch to block all light from the soil beneath.
I use a high quality landscape fabric covered by gravel, gravel lasts forever, the fabric maybe 15 years if keep covered and therefore not exposed to the sun.
Cypress mulch is about the cheapest and lasts a long time. Others like red cypress are good too but much more expensive. It really all depends on what you like more than anything. If you want to block weeds then use a weedblocking fabric before adding or replacing mulch. Older mulch can just be turned into the soil once a year to aid in composting aeration, and moisture retention. I have been using these methods for over 15 years.
I have used pine bark and gravel in different parts of my yard. Both were laid over a thick layer of newspaper.
I find that birds and cats dig up the bark, creating holes and spreading it onto paths and the driveway. However, it has lasted well and looks good for my style of garden. I just tip a new bag out in areas where it wears thin.
The only issue with the gravel is that weeds seem to find it easier to get started. They are easy to pull out though because the roots can't penetrate the newspaper.
I chose not to use weed blocking fabric because it can end up being buried in your garden. I have a couple of areas where the previous owner did this and I now have a tangled mess of plastic fabric a few inches below the surface. I would need to dig up the whole area to remove it.
I always liked the hardwood mulch as it tends to be inexpensive, but this year I spoke to a guy at the hardware store (Westlake) about the hard clay that I needed to modify and he suggested cotton burr compost. It can be mixed into the soil and/or used as a topdressing and it breaks down nicely to help your soil. It is a bit harder to find and more expensive, but I like it. It is very dark and fine textured.
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