Rubber Mulch - don't do it!
tigereye
10 years ago
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mustard_seeds
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Rubber mulch - termites - muclh alternative
Comments (6)Not too many years ago tire dumps were considered Haxardous Waste Sites and after the tires were removed the soil was also because that soil had higher than permissible levels of Cadmium, Lead, and other heavy metals. So someone develops a way to finely shred tires and sell it as a mulch and suddenly putting tires on your soil is not a problem, however, playgrounds that did put shredded tires down fairly quickly removed that material when it was found to children were being exposed to higher than normal levels of Cadmium, Lead, etc. and that the urine of soccer and football players playing on artificial turf (made with, or from, recycled tires) had higher than normal levels of carcinogens. Aside from the simple fact that this shredded rubber will not add anything of value to your soil, there may once again come a day when this material is recognized as the Hazardous Material it still is and require removal, at your expense....See MoreDon't Laugh: I need 'Mulch 101.' And compost. Help!!
Comments (6)Thanks, LG. I'm going to try lasagnizing about 400 square feet of back wall. I'm certain I have enough cardboard to do it, but do we get enough rain to allow the cardboard to break down, like, EVER? If I have to use newsprint it will take some scrounging. There are quite a few horses over the back wall, so I'm going to attempt to gather my courage (I am a complete wuss and hate talking to people I don't know) and see about manure and/or spoiled straw/hay. Mr Spark is going to have a total heart attack if/when he finds out I am intentionally putting manure in the back yard... BTW I'm also going to buck up and try some basic composting, probably with your "random pile inside CRM cage" method. I have no concern about browns because we have parrots and that means we use 57,423 rolls of paper towels per month wiping poop off our shoulders. Greens might be another story... next week the lawn gets mowed so I'll hope it results in a lot of clippings. (The gardeners do it and I have no idea how much they get, but I'll have them start leaving it here.) Yikes. :)...See MoreI was told that I don't have to sharpen my mulching blade
Comments (9)A sharp blade gives an exquisite cut. I always sharpen mine when I rotate them out. Manufacturers no longer sharpen them really sharp because of morons cutting themselves. Even a mower blade has to be dumbed down like everything else. As for, 'dulling quicker', its true you will lose the razor edge fairly soon, but while you have it, its nice. Then, you're back to where you were with the new blade, which still cuts great. That edge will last awhile depending on how much you use it and whether or not you hit gravel/rocks with it. I do not sharpen new blades before using them, but like I said, I always do later. When a blade gets dull, I take it off and put on another one I prepared earlier. Then when I have a chance, I'll clean the blade I took off, sharpen it with a file (or grinder if its bad), balance, paint and put away for future use. When the tilted-up fan part on the back gets thin, the blade is no longer serviceable. That always happens in my yard before sharpening removes too much material....See MoreWhy don't Japanese gardens use any mulch?
Comments (9)The teachings of Martin Hakubai Mosko in his wonderful book LANDSCAPE AS SPIRIT may help to answer this question. He explains, "that the deeper teaching is that garden building and spiritual practice are really about the perfection of character, little by little, moment by moment, breath by breath." In other words it is a Zen form of meditation and character discipline where the gardener daily removes every unwanted weed and fallen leaf from his garden. No need for mulches. Ground covers and mosses receive daily tending. Sand/gravels are also raked and patterned daily. Strongly suggest reading this beautiful book....See MoreKimmsr
10 years agotoxcrusadr
10 years agoKimmsr
10 years agorobertz6
10 years agotoxcrusadr
10 years agodavid883
10 years agoc6-zr1
10 years agotigereye
10 years agoernie85017, zn 9, phx
10 years agothe_virginian
10 years ago
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