The Economics of Mulch

Posted by Cheryl on Mar 19 2009 | 4. Simplify on Thursday

The only thing worse than hearing about the economy is talking about the economy, but wait, this is a happy tale—in a minimalist-free-form sort of way…

Mulch.
The economy.
Then, a necessity.
Now, a luxury.

dump1
Bags of mulch?
Lots to buy.
Expensive.
Ouch.

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Free bulk mulch?
Lots of trips.
Laborious.
Truck-less.

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Tree trimmers.
How ‘bout it, lads?
Gratis.
Delivered.

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Risky?
Yep.
Beggars, not choosers.
A garden experiment.

8 comments

8 Responses to “The Economics of Mulch”

  1. # VA

    Yikes! Good luck with the experiment.

    It seems they’d be unlikely to then have problems like other free mulch. How did you round that out? See them in the street and chase them down?

    Another great thing to do is compost. It doesn’t have to be smelly and it doesn’t have to take up a lot of space and it doesn’t have to require a lot of work. Just a leeetle investment.

    http://www.envirocyclesystems.com

    19 Mar 2009 at 1:50 pm

  2. # Renna

    I’ll be curious for updates of the results!

    19 Mar 2009 at 2:18 pm

  3. # Kim

    If you are going to use it fresh, rather than compost it, add some fertilizer before or while spreading. Fresh wood mulch will leech nitrogen from the soil as it breaks down which could be detrimental to your plants.

    19 Mar 2009 at 4:36 pm

  4. # Tanya

    i liked the word “free” that you used!

    19 Mar 2009 at 7:55 pm

  5. # Sherrill

    I had two truck loads dropped off this fall after my husband talked to the men trimming trees in the area. I’ve been very happy with it so far…I only moved one load, the other load has wintered over….that will be moved into the garden soon.

    Happy shoveling! :)

    19 Mar 2009 at 11:18 pm

  6. # sisiggy

    There’s always a line for the Asplundh guys around here. It’s pure kismet if you happen on a truck not spoken for.

    I wouldn’t be too disappointed about the free mulch. Lots of weeds and bad bugs. There’s a few guys around here with pickups who will take orders and haul some really nice, seasoned mulch out of a place in West Virginia. Less expensive than buying by the bag, but still an expense.

    20 Mar 2009 at 9:59 am

  7. # Holly

    How much wood can a wood chuck, chuck?? You’re going to be busy!!

    20 Mar 2009 at 12:04 pm

  8. # Patricia

    At least they deliver! We have to traipse to the local recycle facility for our free mulch.

    22 Mar 2009 at 10:46 am

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