Moldy Mulch.
From: Kami
Question: TJ - It's your cousin Kami...I have a gardening
question for you. All of our mulch hardened and
molded, I assume it is from the 3 feet of snow
we had last December plus the area where it is
stays pretty wet. So we are going to have to
pull it all out and replace it. My question is,
if we replace it with bark with that mold too?
We have weed fabric down then mulch right now.
Any other ideas of what I can use for ground
cover? We have junipers, aspens and various
plant/flowers all in the same area. I don't
want to have to mess with this again and rock
will cost a lot as it is a large area. Any
ideas? Thanks my gardening expert!
Hi!
That's really unusual for Colorado since it's so dry. For the most part, no the mulch doesn't mold in Colorado. Even here it's rare. The only other thing I can think of is to use the new rubber mulch. It's mulch that is ground up tires that is dyed to look like real mulch. That stuff is too cool and it never goes away! The only problem is it's really expensive too. I think about $12 a bag but you wouldn't have to ever buy it again. I would just replace it with fresh bark. If this is the first time it's happened in all the years you've lived there then it was probably just a one time thing.
Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com
Update:
Hello again. So the Extension Office said we can turn the mulch and it will dry out. It was definitely caused from the extra snowfall we had this year. She also said the weed fabric wouldn’t be an issue if we wanted to leave it. They do recommend bark over mulch as it doesn’t break down and decompose as much.
Thanks again for your help and the info.
Kami
Yes, turning it over works well. You've had your mulch for a while so I figured it was mostly decomposed. For our readers buying "Bark" instead of chopped mulch does take a few more years to break down.
Tawra
Question: TJ - It's your cousin Kami...I have a gardening
question for you. All of our mulch hardened and
molded, I assume it is from the 3 feet of snow
we had last December plus the area where it is
stays pretty wet. So we are going to have to
pull it all out and replace it. My question is,
if we replace it with bark with that mold too?
We have weed fabric down then mulch right now.
Any other ideas of what I can use for ground
cover? We have junipers, aspens and various
plant/flowers all in the same area. I don't
want to have to mess with this again and rock
will cost a lot as it is a large area. Any
ideas? Thanks my gardening expert!
Hi!
That's really unusual for Colorado since it's so dry. For the most part, no the mulch doesn't mold in Colorado. Even here it's rare. The only other thing I can think of is to use the new rubber mulch. It's mulch that is ground up tires that is dyed to look like real mulch. That stuff is too cool and it never goes away! The only problem is it's really expensive too. I think about $12 a bag but you wouldn't have to ever buy it again. I would just replace it with fresh bark. If this is the first time it's happened in all the years you've lived there then it was probably just a one time thing.
Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com
Update:
Hello again. So the Extension Office said we can turn the mulch and it will dry out. It was definitely caused from the extra snowfall we had this year. She also said the weed fabric wouldn’t be an issue if we wanted to leave it. They do recommend bark over mulch as it doesn’t break down and decompose as much.
Thanks again for your help and the info.
Kami
Yes, turning it over works well. You've had your mulch for a while so I figured it was mostly decomposed. For our readers buying "Bark" instead of chopped mulch does take a few more years to break down.
Tawra
posted by Tawra Jean at 4:40 PM
2 Comments:
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Hi! Wanted to offer my two cents! Our family ground mulch and sold it in our family business for years...We ground all hardwood and bark-no pine or yard waste. It is common for mulch to harden and get a crust on it-at least here in Ohio. We always recommended to our customers to periodically rake/flip/break-up and turn the mulch through out the season. This keeps it aerated and really does make it last longer.
There are different types of mold that can be found in different mulches. Usually if it's just a wetness issue, the mulch can be turned, flipped and flopped to dry out and is just fine.
These are just our personal experiences with our mulch-it can vary depending on type of mulch and the general conditions in your area.
I love Living on a Dime and appreciate all your information!
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