Beware of Toxic Mulch
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Article by: Michael McGroarty Mulching beds , Budget For Your Garden has become extremely popular these days, and mulch can be really beneficial to your plants , Marsh Marigold and the soil , Palm Trees in your planting beds, , Wood Furniture for the Outdoors: Durable, Dependable, and Pleasing to the Eye 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 , Marsh Marigold 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 , Why Gardening is Better properly handle it. They like to pile it as high as they can so it takes up less space in their yard. , Wood Furniture for the Outdoors: Durable, Dependable, and Pleasing to the Eye The mulch really tends to back up during the winter , Give a Bird a Home; Leave a Legacy 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 , Preformed Ponds Manufactured from New Rubber/Plastic Composite More Durable and Resistant to Wear are first debarked the mulch is fairly fresh, and needs to decompose before we dare use it around our plants. , Hummingbirds … Attracting Those Little Flying Powerhouses The decomposition process requires oxygen and air , Soil is the Foundation of Every Garden flow into the pile. When the mulch is compacted too tight, this air , Zucchini: A Power House of Nutrition flow cannot take place, , Palm Trees and as the mulch continues to decompose it becomes extremely hot , Introducting KOI-Cam! as the organic , Oregano: Joy of the Mountain matter ferments. Sometimes the extreme heat , Your Garden - Start With The Basics combined with the inability to release the heat , Location, Location, Location: Where to Put Your Water Garden can cause the pile to burst into flame through spontaneous combustion. In other cases the mulch heats , Lawn Care Tips - Six Easy Steps to a Great Lawn up, cannot release the gas, , Types of Water Gardens 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 , Lawn Care Tips - Six Easy Steps to a Great Lawn the gas , Hummingbirds … Attracting Those Little Flying Powerhouses it contains is released, and this gas , How to Choose a Snow Blower for Your Garden can and will burn your plants. , Introducting KOI-Cam! It has happened to me twice. Once at my own house, , Seeding Your Lawn, Laid Bare 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. , Daylily 'When My Sweetheart Returns' The next day my customer noticed that one side of the plant , Soil is the Foundation of Every Garden 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 , Understanding Weeds - But mostly How to Kill 'em 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 , Orchids Are One Of Nature's Most Beautiful Flowers that was released settled on the lawn , The History of the Gnome next to the driveway. The gas, , The Guide to Cloudy Pool Water not the mulch, turned the grass , About Crocuses brown next to the mulch pile. This same person spread several yards , Snow Blowers of the mulch around their house , Lawn Care Tips - Six Easy Steps to a Great Lawn before they realized the problem, and it ruined many of their plants. , Wood Furniture for the Outdoors: Durable, Dependable, and Pleasing to the Eye Now here's the hard part; trying to explain to you how to , Companion Planting 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 , High Intensity Discharge Grow Light (Generic) than usual. If you suspect a problem with the mulch you have, take a couple of shovels full, and place , A Garden Pond in Your Landscape - Want Water in Your Yard? it around an inexpensive plant. , High Intensity Discharge Grow Light (Generic) Maybe just a couple of flowers. , Handcrafted Garden Bridges Builds Traditional Arched Span Bridges with Modern Flair When doing this test use mulch from inside , The Hosta – A Shade Loving Perennial 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 , Marsh Marigold that it may have held. If after 24 hours the test plants , The Hosta – A Shade Loving Perennial are okay, the mulch should be fine. The purpose of this article is not to induce panic at the mulch yard, , Hummingbirds … Attracting Those Little Flying Powerhouses but toxic mulch can do serious damage. At my house , Your Garden - Start With The Basics it burned the leaves right off some of the plants , Color in the Garden in my landscape, , Location, Location, Location: Where to Put Your Water Garden and burned the grass , Location, Location, Location: Where to Put Your Water Garden next to the bed , Why Gardening is Better all the way around the house. , Send Flowers Online It looked like somebody had taken a torch and burned the grass , Budget For Your Garden back about 2"Âť all the way around the bed. , Garden Tips for Planting Super-Sweet Grape Tomatoes 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 , How to Choose a Snow Blower for Your Garden 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 , Seeding Your Lawn, Laid Bare newsletter.Ă‚Â Article provided by http://gardening-articles.com. |
  
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