Lava Rock as Mulch
ocdgardener
18 years ago
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kjggames
18 years agosylviatexas1
18 years agoRelated Discussions
Covering Lava Rock with Mulch??
Comments (18)I know this is an old thread but I wanted to update what I did over time to get "rid" of the lava rock problem that we had. This last week, I finally scraped alot of the remaining rock out of the large bed and spaded topsoil, compost and some organic fertilizer into the soil. However quite a bit of the lava rock remained and I spaded that in along with the amendments. I simply could not get all the rocks out with a flat type of coal shovel. I double dug the areas adding amendments each time along with organic fertilzer, soy pellets, etc. (Not alot of fertilizer but a sprinkling to get things cooking along with the compost in there.) Of course this was heavy, sweaty work but it is finally finished off. I wish I had been able to get almost all of the lava rock out of there but too much of it had already been mixed in with soil over the years and I simply couldn't get it all out without removing ALOT of the soil along with it. But I was able to spade the vast majority of it back into the amended soil before adding a final layer of topsoil, compost, soy pellets and wood mulch. (In the end I probably added back 4 inches of amendments to make up for the removed lava rock and put another 3 inches of wood mulch on top of all of that.) So now most of the remaining lava rock has finally been worked into the soil where it can hopefully decompose more quickly and become part of the soil. I NEVER recommend lava rock or landscape fabric to anyone but if you move into a house that has them you can probably get away with leaving some to dig into the soil. I say this because after all the amendments and digging in of the remaining lava rock (which was still a fair amount of lava rock) the final "soil" drains well. (But it took ALOT of work that wouldn't have been necessary if I had never had the lava rock in the first place.) The plantings are doing very well but I'll know more this summer when the wife plants flowers into this newly amended soil with some lava rock spaded in. Time will tell. In the end though, I WILL NEVER use lava rock or weed barrier fabric on my garden ever again. These were the two biggest mistakes I have ever made in all my years of gardening. Just my personal opinion. (The reason I got rid of mine and/or incorporated the remaining lava rock into the soil was it had become unsightly over time and some parts stayed too damp and a small bit of moss was growing on some of them. This situation had to be corrected because it was really bugging me. LOL!) Finally, I was surprised to find quite a few earthworms in this old "lava rock" soil when spading in all the new stuff. That did really surprise me, I didn't expect to see earthworms in this old stuff. Now the earthworms have a good soil to live in!! (I hope!!)...See MoreMulch or Lava rock?
Comments (4)Don't use fabric. And don't use rocks. I would use only mulch- it degrades and nourishes the earth, it keeps moisture in the soil, and helps keep roots cool. Plus when you refresh it every year or so it makes everything look all new again. Rocks, once put down, are forever and someday somehow you will want them gone and be unable to gather them all up. You'll be forced to hire neighborhood kids for a penny a rock. They just become unsightly and bake everything underneath. As far as the fabric there are varying viewpoints but I do not find that it suppresses weeds all that well (birds still drop seeds that germinate on top) and there is evidence that it disrupts gas exchange and beneficial soil organisms. Roots need air....See MoreMore pet peeves...
Comments (82)Actually I'm kind of feeling bad. The whole toilet bowl idea may be someone elses pride. Even if a whimsical joke. And Im wondering if I could say what I'm typing to that persons face personally. And not feel the hurt I might cause. But I did get a good laugh : ) To add constructively to the thread one pet peeve of mine? Neighbors or homeowners in a community hiring Landscapers to do renovations requiring the disposal of old shrubs and perennials. Seeing them chainsawd and chipped, buried by heavy machinery. I mean that is horrible. I never looked at it that way until I started the process of donating a Japanese Garden to a local community business. Here I am wondering why the rootstock cant be shared by community members who are financially unable to afford such plants. Here I am wondering how Im going to pull this off with no money of mine to spare. So I must resort to finding recycled plants. For the first time in my life. Ive always spent other people money. Now I have to come up with ideas so as not to loose face and make the Japanese Garden a reality. I wont accept a penny more from the place Im building it. The whole idea is about community service. Giving something that is a passion for free. I have a passion so its easy. The rest is patience. I hate evil plant killers :) Let youre fellow citizens have a chance to adopt a plant before you send it to a tragic death.... People!!! Especially at the hand of Monster Landscape Contractors who arent even willing to keep the plant for themselves to use on another project.Sometimes the completion date requires dispossal of ornamentals not in the design rather than re salvaging. Maybe the local town Gardening Committee will use those ornamentals. Making the town plan of beautification financially feasible. Ive never heard of such a thing but sounds like a good idea. So many homes are stripped of old growth ornamentals that have overgrown the original space. To be lost forever. I sometimes to the embarrassment of myself will stop at such a job and ask for all the root stock still alive.. Many trades men will look at me askance. Like Im crazy and should know better than to ask such a question. Giving that tough guy attitude. Like get the hell off of my job you jackass. I can see it in their eyes. And in truth I hate that feeling. Its hard for me to swallow. I must look like an amatuer doing such things. So in reality I'm doing this rarely. Driving my dump truck to the sites who are kinder. I might get something. Knowing one particular customer of mine who is low on money would appreciate these plants. Giving that customer back for the opportunity they provided earlier. To work on their property when they had money to spend. Maybe sounds old fashioned but I like my customers to be happy. I want them to have dreams fulfilled just as I want mine. Business sometimes corrupts that process of brotherhood. No one could put the value of driving onto a customers property with a huge Rhody salvaged from being destroyed. Its a priceless moment. And what did it cost me. Maybe 20 dollars in gas. A few hours labor. But what I get in return is priceless. Compassion from the person Im thinking about. We see eachother as equalls. Something money can not buy. And when you get used to this way of thinking you never expect anything in return. The whole idea was just do it. Its the right thing to do. For no real reason but it just feels right. I dont need books to know this. Its the same act as when a baby hands over the food for you to take a bite. Isnt it awesome to see a young child offer food that was almost going into the mouth hesitate. Then look at you and put the food in youre mouth intead! Its human nature to share. Sometimes I think how cruel it must be to see ornamentals a neighbor could never afford but truly desire and watch that tree discarded like trash. The owner of such ornamentals never asking fellow neighbors if they would like to have it. I guess most people believe in not sharing and rather see material things in the garbage before theyd ever concede to the principle of giving without hesitation. That was good. I feel better! Japanese Gardening has made me think differently. To give and help the community you are a member of is the goal. Finding every opportunity to make a community come together with little things. Not on the rare occasion. But on a daily bases. Its easy. I like what Im saying and will try harder to do so. This is what makes me feel like a boulder resisting the rivers current. Finding wieght in my doings. Even if the community is too complex to understand I feel rooted to living out one aspect of being a member. Feeling like you belong. Not just driving to the local store for groceries and back home. But stopping along that daily circle to do one small thing. No matter how little. Like someone you see going to the mailbox every morning while leaving for work. Saying to that person.. "Hey Ill have Peony roots by the end of the day. Only a few. Ill leave you some tomorrow morning." At least its a start. And after a few years you can see that act of giving grow into a smile on each others face every time you cross that persons path leaving for work in the morning. Nobody said this means becoming nosey or involved with strangers. Its just one simple way to say hello. Next time we see each other we can smile and wave hello instead of me driving by like a sardine in a car. Gardening is probably the easiest way for a community to come together. Every home has something to offer. Dont throw ornamentals away....See MoreMight lava rock deter squirrels from digging in pots???
Comments (10)Mikeandbarb, We stapled hardware cloth strips, about 2" wide, on top of a fence with the cut ends pointing up. That deterred the neighborhood feral cats and the squirrels from running along the top of the fence. Our neighbor made a "nail board" out of a strip of 1/2" plywood about 2" wide, with 1" or 1 1/2" nails in it about every four inches. The great thing is, once you put this up and the pests learn the fence is unfriendly, they stay off for quite a while. Of course, we still had pecans coming up in every potted plant we had outside. Sure wish we'd known about lava rock!...See Moreocdgardener
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