Actually raspberries like acid soil. The cheapest mulch you can get is wood chips. In MI, 30 cubic yards of wood chips cost nothing (delivery also does not cost), if you call a tree company that would need to pay for landfill space otherwise. that would probably take care of 500 plants. Do not be shy and give them 8 inches or more initially. Wood chips will make the soil even more acid than leaves (which actually make a mildly acidic compost) initially, but the raspberries will not mind. They will appreciate the water savings, and long term (say, in two years), the mulch will provide all the nutrients they need. Right now, with new plants and a barren soil that needs time to absorb all that organic matter, you are better off fertilizing and watering a bit. You will appreciate a mulch that lasts two or more years, and that does not smother new canes (like matted maple leaves sometimes do). I have had raspberries in acidic sandy soil since 1997. They only got whatever yard waste I did not want to use on other plants, so mostly wood chips, but also peeling bark from firewood, whatever I swept from the patio or driveway, etc, probably 2 feet of the stuff over the years. They are incredibly strong plants.

A few years old may not give you good protection from weeds. Fresh is what you can get from an arborist but you'd have to take a whole truck load which is enough to do about 25 trees. Also some wood chips are a mess with lots of strips that are ugly and make handling them tougher. It all depends on level of equipment maintenance. I like fairly young wood chips but old enough to be darkened so they're more attractive to my eye. 6 months with some rain gets them there. Landscape and masonry yards sell shredded wood by bulk. It doesn't work as well as the chips although they are often made from them. Shredding causes the wood to mat up which is helpful for stopping weeds with less product but water will run right around it. Stirring it solves this problem. They are lighter and easier to work with than chips. All and all, for just 2 tress you might as well run with bark nuggets- but taste them for salt.

That is beautiful Cameron!!! I'm going to try this here with my beds!! I'm not looking for a perfect edge either, I'm rural as well on 15 acres and taking in land as I put in landscaping. The actual "lawn" area is small (I only had about 50 to 75 feet from the house cleared), I prefer plants and trees to grass to mow. Not to mention all the money I will save and can spend on plants by not buying a bunch of stone or brick to put in for borders!! :-) Hubby LOVES the idea of being able to run the mower right up to the edge of the bed for help with the maintenance. John, how well I know what a pain the weeding is around borders. On my last house (subdivision) I found some absolutely beautiful terra cotta border. I've never found it again, but my fescue crept right into the beds. And I made a beginners mistake of putting in Mint in my herb area. Controlling that was a constant battle!! Where I have the brick now is exactly where I wanted it. I didn't have any sidewalks put in either, I hate concrete poured sidewalks. So I'm putting in one very functional red brick sidewalk to the door we use the most. These beds with the brick border line that sidewalk and give the definition I need to the walk. I want to use stepping stones for the other walkways. Now, what kind of shorter plants would look good at the edge of the beds? That is and do well in full sun? LOL my last house had a lot of shade too, and I'm learning full sun plants now. I'm going to look into some of the mini lillies!

*sigh*...I thought it was just silver maples that have problems with chlorosis here. I don't want anything I will have to baby, since I am new to all this anyhow. A Norway maple sounds like it would be a pain also...how does one wrap a tree trunk?? I just want to plant it and forget about it (aside from giving it plenty of water its first year or two). This new tree is going in a very exposed location - right by the road on the southwest corner of our property (the house sits about 50 feet back). There is a four-foot vinyl fence a few feet away, but that's the closest thing to a "shady" side there is. Sounds like maybe I need to rethink ANY maple in that location, which just makes me sick to contemplate at this point because I am soooo picky about trees. =( On the bright side....the flowering cherry I planted in the spring seems to be doing well so far. I mulched about 3' around it, am watering deeply once or twice a week, and it looks happy. I am so thankful for that little tree! It keeps me hopeful and wanting to move ahead with all this. Flowering cherries are my sentimental trees from childhood, and my mom ordered this one for me. :-)