|
Author: Michael McGroarty Article source: http://www.freeplants.com/. Used with author's permission.
Mulching beds has become extremely popular these days, and mulch can be really beneficial to your plants and the soil in your planting beds, but there are things you need to watch for.
Here in Ohio the most popular type of mulch that people use is shredded hardwood bark mulch, which is a byproduct of the timber industry. When they haul the logs into the sawmill the first thing they do is debark them. Years ago the bark was a huge problem for the mills because there didn't seem to be a useful purpose for it, until people realized the hidden benefits that it held. Still to this day, the bark is a headache for the saw mills, and they don't always understand how to properly handle it.
They like to pile it as high as they can so it takes up less space in their yard. The mulch really tends to back up during the winter months because there is little demand for it. In order for the mills to pile the mulch high, they literally have to drive the large front end loaders up onto the pile. Of course the weight of these large machines compacts the mulch in the pile, and this can become a huge problem for you or I if we happen to get some mulch that has been stacked too high, and compacted too tightly.
When the trees are first debarked the mulch is fairly fresh, and needs to decompose before we dare use it around our plants. The decomposition process requires oxygen and air flow into the pile. When the mulch is compacted too tight, this air flow cannot take place, and as the mulch continues to decompose it becomes extremely hot as the organic matter ferments. Sometimes the extreme heat combined with the inability to release the heat can cause the pile to burst into flame through spontaneous combustion.
In other cases the mulch heats up, cannot release the gas, and the mulch actually becomes toxic. When this occurs the mulch develops an overbearing odor that will take your breath away as you dig into the pile. When you spread this toxic mulch around your plants the gas it contains is released, and this gas can and will burn your plants.
It has happened to me twice. Once at my own house, and once on a job I was doing for a customer. This toxic mulch is very potent. We spilled a little mulch in the foliage of a Dwarf Alberta Spruce that we were mulching around, and just a few minutes later brushed the mulch out of the plant. The next day my customer noticed that one side of the plant was all brown. The mulch had only been there for a matter of minutes.
Not only did I have to replace the Dwarf Alberta Spruce, but the mulch also damaged at least 10 other plants that I had to replace. I once saw where somebody ordered a truck load of mulch, had it dumped in their driveway, and as the toxic mulch slid out of the dump truck onto the asphalt the toxic gas that was released settled on the lawn next to the driveway.
The gas, not the mulch, turned the grass brown next to the mulch pile.
This same person spread several yards of the mulch around their house before they realized the problem, and it ruined many of their plants.
Now here's the hard part; trying to explain to you how to identify toxic mulch. It has a very strong odor that will take your breath away. But then again almost all mulch has a powerful odor. This is very different than your typical mulch smell, but I can't explain it any better than that.
The mulch looks perfectly normal, maybe a little darker in color than usual. If you suspect a problem with the mulch you have, take a couple of shovels full, and place it around an inexpensive plant. Maybe just a couple of flowers. When doing this test use mulch from inside the mulch pile and not from the edges. The mulch on the edge of the pile has more than likely released most of the toxic gas that it may have held.
If after 24 hours the test plants are okay, the mulch should be fine. The purpose of this article is not to induce panic at the mulch yard, but toxic mulch can do serious damage. At my house it burned the leaves right off some of the plants in my landscape, and burned the grass next to the bed all the way around the house. It looked like somebody had taken a torch and burned the grass back about 2" all the way around the bed. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it.
You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, http://www.freeplants.com. Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter. Article provided by http://gardening-articles.com.
Stress Management: The Power of a Day
Are you struggling to juggle everything that needs your attention in your work and life? Discover the secret to rejuvinating your energy and preventing burnout...
Information at What Price? Exploring Fee-based e-Content
In pursuit of a paid model for content, many businesses offer newsletters for a fee or ebooks. These models offer pros and cons. Some organizations send out two...
Which Drug Addiction Treatment is the Best?
The answer is simple: there is no such thing as the best drug addiction treatment...
About Baby Bunnies
Well, first, if you want to have bunny babies you should read everything you can on the subject and also talk to your local animal shelters and rabbit rescue or...
Impress Your Date: Proper Grooming Tips For Him
So you have scored the date, she has agreed to go out with you. Now the preparation begins. If you think that you can just show up for the all-important first d...
What in the World are You Doing?
Here is the typical life - typical, though not everybody does it this way. But for the most part, lives generally go something like this:
Okay Lets Do A Poodle Again
My wife and I have been married for 32 years. In that time our pets, more commonly known to us as dogs, have taken a large part of that shared life together.It ...
Credit Card Processing Provides Customers with an Extremely Popular Payment Option
The ability to accept credit cards is a vital part to running any type of business. This can be acquired by obtaining credit card processing solutions. Acceptin...
An Open Letter From a So-called Stupid
Why Identity Theft makes us all dummies, and what you can do to stop being stupid...
Build Your Business (On A Shoestring): Hire a College Intern
Starting up a new venture or business can be one of the most exciting times of your life. It can also be one of the most stressful. In the early months, or ev...
Set Your Site on the Right Trajectory by Submitting It to Every Directory
So how do you get inbound links without spending loads of money and time? Directory submission. Simple as that.
The Power Of A Story
If you want your marketing to be effective, you absolutely must connect emotionally with your prospects. And one of the best ways to do that is by telling a sto...
Take the Road Less Traveled
It is uncommon knowledge that gives rise to uncommon leadership.
The Great Search Engine War, Where Content is King
The development of search engines and search engine spamming and how the best strategy for consistent, long-lasting rankings in the Search Engine Results Pages ...
Detecting Menopause Through Testing
Menopause comes from two Greek words that mean "month" and "to end," and the current medical definition of menopause means exactly the same: the absence of mens...
Using Your Personal Website To Clinch That Job!
With an increasing number of employment portals emerging, it is apparent that internet tools do help bring the job-seeker and the potential employer together. A...
Integrate Your Affiliate Programs to Explode Your Affiliate Income
Affiliate marketers frequently end up joining multiple,
disconnected Internet programs. This can reduce your energy and
motivation because of the lack of focus...
Delegate or Die!
There is not a single management skill more critical to your personal and professional success as an entrepreneur than learning to delegate. But delegating succ...
Getting to the Core of the Problem with Your Golf Game
Just about everything you do during golf practice and/or a game involves the core region of your body.
Put on Your Walking Shoes for Fitness and Weight Loss!
Fitness and weight loss can be as simple as a quality pair of walking shoes, a pedometer, and a plan!
Sticky Conversations
Everyone in business has to at some point face the inevitable of the uncomforable conversation with someone. These are some tools to prepare even the most timid...
Goal Setting: Pops Proves Its Never Too Late
A 39-year-old former Army Ranger and father of six proves that it's never too late to start on a goal that you first set many years ago.
Client Service as a Competitive Advantage
As someone who has been heavily involved facilitating strategic planning processes with organizations during the last 15+ years, I often find it somewhat amusin...
Hurricane Katrina Donations Could be Many Millions More - EBay Sellers Try in Vain to Help
Many eBay sellers are rushing to contribute their merchandise in support of victims of Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately, many of them are being rebuffed becaus...
|
Print this page