The SteveToad Mulching Project

[MattyB]

One day the Toadster got ambitious, and decided that he had enough battling his weeds and bermuda grass. So he threw down his chalis, picked up his rake, and got to work lasagna mulching the front yard!

When I arrived Steve had already spread cardboard down all around the planter areas in preparation for a nice thick, smothering layer of mulch.

You can see the bermuda grass and bare dirt that made growing palms very difficult at times.

[MattyB]

So we hopped in the PRA Action Truck , and headed out to the Miramar Landfill Greenery http://www.sandiego.gov/environmental-services/miramar/greenery/index.shtml

2 yards of mulch ready to be applied! I'm convinced that this is going to change his garden dramatically. If he's been growing many palms successfully in bare dirt with bermuda grass, then from now on he's in a whole new world!

Hopefully Steve will share the "after" pics, once it's spread out.

[John Case]

Kind of like The Alan Parsons Project without the music......

[Stevetoad]

Thanks for the help Matt! I just finished spreading it all. 2 yards was perfect for my front yard. Got really good coverage and didnt have to "thin it out". Ill post some after pics later today. I'm very excited to get a better hold on the weeds/grass out front. It got so bad that I sort of lost interest in the front yard and just focused on the back. This will help get me working out front again. I can't wait to do the backyard now.

[Jastin]

Were gonna have to come in with reinforcements for the back yard Steve, not sure if it will only be 2 yards. If you want to do it on the 1st or 3rd Saturday of the month let me know and ill bring a few yards to you for free...Thats $2 truck load day at El Corazon Compost/mulch. Go online and find a mulch calculator, enter the depth (4") and the length X width (SQFT). Find out how many yards you need and let me know.

[Jastin]

I can't wait to see the after pics, it looks so good with just the cardboard!

[palmaddict]

Hey Matt,

Last time I did this was about a year ago. I needed 20 cubic yards of the mulch. Actually I use wood chips from shredded pallets. In order to save money I was wondering if you wouldn't mind making some runs with your truck. Maybe once a week until Christmas!!

Actually due to the 20 cubic yard size I get it from a recycling facility in Lakeside. The cost for the 20 yards delivered is $320. I will need another 20 yards sometime in the coming month or so. When you come home and see the that size of a pile of mulch on your driveway all you can do is sigh. I figure 20 yards is about 120 trips with a full wheelbarrow. A good two days of work.

patrick

[Stevetoad]

Were gonna have to come in with reinforcements for the back yard Steve, not sure if it will only be 2 yards. If you want to do it on the 1st or 3rd Saturday of the month let me know and ill bring a few yards to you for free...Thats $2 truck load day at El Corazon Compost/mulch. Go online and find a mulch calculator, enter the depth (4") and the length X width (SQFT). Find out how many yards you need and let me know.

I think my backyard will take 4-5 yards including the side yards. I think I'm going to get a load on Saturday and another on Sunday to see how far it gets me. I don't have the weed problem in the back but I think I'll still lay down the cardboard. You know your always welcome to come over. You don't have to bring a load of mulch.

[MattyB]

You can never have too mulch much. Even if you have to make a pile of it somewhere, you'll find that you'll keep coming back to it to touch up areas and it'll be gone and spread around before you know it.

[Jastin]

You can never have too mulch much. Even if you have to make a pile of it somewhere, you'll find that you'll keep coming back to it to touch up areas and it'll be gone and spread around before you know it.

True True

[Stevetoad]

Here's some progress shots of my neglected front yard. I think the mulching will help everything grow better and now that I'm not overwhelmed by the weeds Ill be happy to work out here.

This area was so infested with grass that you couldn't see the ground. Pritchardias look better when you can see them

[Stevetoad]

My gardener says I should cut off this leaf

Mattyb again thank you very mulch!

[MattyB]

Nice!

[Jastin]

WOW Steve, it looks like you have a new garden. Its amazing how the mulch brings out your plants. I honestly didnt know you had all those palms! now when those little weeds start popping up you have to be consistent! Sorry, I ate all the pizza, I couldn't make it to UPS in time

[Stevetoad]

WOW Steve, it looks like you have a new garden. Its amazing how the mulch brings out your plants. I honestly didnt know you had all those palms! now when those little weeds start popping up you have to be consistent! Sorry, I ate all the pizza, I couldn't make it to UPS in time

Great. I held off on dinner too!

[Dr. George]

Very nice! - gmp

[Hammer]

That really looks great. I never saw the before. But the after looks great with that mulch. The dark color contrasting with the green of the palms makes the beds and palms look like a million bucks!

[Palmə häl′ik]

Nice! Now you need to get on Craigslist and find some red wrigglers for sale... It'll be one big party for them in there!

- Ray.

[dalmatiansoap]

Nice job done!

[ClayW]

The mulching (and the palms ) look great.

I am new to palms and live the in San Diego area, thanks for the tip and the link regarding the Miramar Landfill as a source for mulch. I saw that there are a lot of different mixes as too mulch size and age. Any recommendations for which is best for palms? Which did you guys use?

Thanks,

Clay

[Stevetoad]

if i remember right it was just called "standard mulch". im sure Mattyb remembers.

[MattyB]

Clay,

The El Corazon facility in Oceanside or Evergreen Nursery on Black Mtn. Rd might be closer to you.

But if you go to the Miramar Landfill, Steve and I got the "Mulch", it's $5/yd., and they dump it right into your truck.

The "Compost", which is a finer mix that's been aged longer, the best stuff for rototilling into your soil, is $12/yd.

I've found that the "Mulch" is best for me because it has plenty of fine compost in it, but the larger wood chips allow it to last longer and not just disappear quickly. Plus if you just use the "Compost" on top as a mulch it tends to wash away easily with surface watering because it's fine. I like a chunkier top layer that withstands erosion and won't stick to your shoes.

The other stuff is ground up pallets, colored wood chips, etc., which are fine to use as a mulch, but the black composted "Mulch" and "Compost" are going to be your choice for laying down against the dirt because they've already been rotted/composted and they won't rob your soil of any nitrogen, thus providing immediate nutrients for the microbes to get working on.

Shoot, go get some horse manure for free on craigslist, that stuff is great too. Mulch is a miracle.

[Vari805]

Is Bill Stanford taking notes? Great job Steve and Matty!

[ClayW]

Matt,

Thanks so much for the helpful and detailed answer. I like the idea of having something that lasts for a while and it sounds like the larger pieces in the "mulch" mulch will do that versus the compost. I am in the process of finishing a drip irrigation system and hopefully in a few weeks I will be ready for mulch so this post is really timely. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience.

Clay

[John Case]

You can never have too mulch much. Even if you have to make a pile of it somewhere, you'll find that you'll keep coming back to it to touch up areas and it'll be gone and spread around before you know it.

Actually, you can have too much mulch for the following reasons:

1) The shredded wood will house lots of ugly bugs safe from predators and man

2) The breakdown of the multch will rob nitrogen from the soil (although there is debate on this)

3) It interferes with proper drainage, to be sure in clay soils

I am not saying that you should not mulch, just that 6 inches of it may be too much!

Comments?

[MattyB]

I would have to respectfully disagree with you on all three counts.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

A great improvement Steve !

Very nice of you Matty to lend a hand with your mulchmania !

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Who is Bill Stanford ??

ah i get it the weedman's alter ego !

[Gonzer]

I will agree with John on the fact that 6" of new mulch is too much. A decomposed layer of a couple inches that has already incorporated itself into the physical properties of the soil followed with 2"- 4" layer of fresh is ideal. To start off with a 6" layer would not be ideal. I also question how will water penetrate the cardboard into the surrounding soil? Until it has completely broken down you won't get saturation outside the root zone.

The Evergreen Nursery across the street from El Corazon also has a fine selection of mulches.

[Stevetoad]

I will agree with John on the fact that 6" of new mulch is too much. A decomposed layer of a couple inches that has already incorporated itself into the physical properties of the soil followed with 2"- 4" layer of fresh is ideal. To start off with a 6" layer would not be ideal. I also question how will water penetrate the cardboard into the surrounding soil? Until it has completely broken down you won't get saturation outside the root zone.

The Evergreen Nursery across the street from El Corazon also has a fine selection of mulches.

Everything is on drip. I made sure to keep the cardboard away from the base of the plants enough to where the water from the emitters make direct soil contact. If I was using overhead watering then I probably wouldn't have used the cardboard. I've always had a very hard time keeping the soil in my front yard moist, I'm sure this will help out a ton. One thing I have noticed about drip is that the next day if I dig a hole around 3feet from the nearest emitter the soil is still saturated. I'm really looking forward to doing the backyard like this now.

[MattyB]

I will agree with John on the fact that 6" of new mulch is too much. A decomposed layer of a couple inches that has already incorporated itself into the physical properties of the soil followed with 2"- 4" layer of fresh is ideal. To start off with a 6" layer would not be ideal.

I might agree with you guys if we're talking about a real fine, dense, mulch. I still think that 6" of the mulch that steve and I got or even a deeper layer of fresh tree trimmings is OK. That 6"-8" layer of chunky mulch will quickly settle and compact down to 4" within a few months. And if we're talking pine needles then 12" deep is no problem; that 12" will settle down to 4". Of course if you're watering from above you're gonna use a hell of a lot of water before that water hits the ground.....something to think about. If you're using drip, where your emitters are burried down at the lower layers of the mulch, you're fine.

[BS Man about Palms]

Is Bill Stanford taking notes? Great job Steve and Matty!

I'm Bill SANFORD and back in the day I did this... mulch thing... just let it get away... ONE day I went for the gusto and got THREE $2 truckloads in one day.. (unloded twice before closing) My big truck holds @ 3 yards..

This was my front yard 14 months ago..

[MattyB]

Bill illuminates a good point. You have to spray or weed for one year in order to make sure all of the weeds and grass are dead. That new mulch will only make them grow out of control if you dont.

[John Case]

I would have to respectfully disagree with you on all three counts.

and you are welcome to........

someday we can discuss face to face, I hope...

[Moose]

I will agree with John on the fact that 6" of new mulch is too much. A decomposed layer of a couple inches that has already incorporated itself into the physical properties of the soil followed with 2"- 4" layer of fresh is ideal. To start off with a 6" layer would not be ideal.

I might agree with you guys if we're talking about a real fine, dense, mulch. I still think that 6" of the mulch that steve and I got or even a deeper layer of fresh tree trimmings is OK. That 6"-8" layer of chunky mulch will quickly settle and compact down to 4" within a few months. And if we're talking pine needles then 12" deep is no problem; that 12" will settle down to 4". Of course if you're watering from above you're gonna use a hell of a lot of water before that water hits the ground.....something to think about. If you're using drip, where your emitters are burried down at the lower layers of the mulch, you're fine.

I'm in the MattyB camp about heavy mulching. Put 53 yards of it in the yard last year. Away from the palm trunks, I had it 12" deep in some areas. I got earthworms everywhere now.

[Hilo Jason]

Looking great Steve!

[LJG]

One negative of excessive mulching is that it can limit gas exchange to plant roots. Same with over planting of a choking ground cover.

[John Case]

One negative of excessive mulching is that it can limit gas exchange to plant roots. Same with over planting of a choking ground cover.

Killing of ground burrowing pollenators, like bees.....

Promoting ant colonies......

[Gonzer]

12" in Southern California is excessive overkill. Len and John state valid points. Also, roots growing in this thick medium would have zero stability for supporting the palm.

[Rafael]

Nice work Stevo!