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Mulching is a requisite of good gardening. Mulches control weeds and at the same time provide controls for erosion of soil. Read all about mulches, natural or artificial, in this article.
Landscape Mulch
Mulching is the basic requirement of a well-maintained garden. Mulching has many advantages.
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It controls the pH value of the soil. Controlling the pH of soil has good effect on the plant growth and fruit & flower growth
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It prevents excessive water evaporation. The water retention capacity of soil is increased and the water requirement of crops and trees goes down.
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It slows the growth of weeds around the trees and plants. This has the effect of the trees and plants getting the nutrition in required quantities. The growth of the trees and plants is therefore very rapid than otherwise.
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It reduces the soil erosion. The top soil is very important for the growth of trees and plants as it provides essential nutrients required by the trees and plants
With such important functions of the mulch, it is necessary to select the mulch carefully. A large variety of mulches is available. The mulches can be either bought from market or even prepared at home by collecting the leaves of trees and composting them in your own backyard. A new variety of rubberstuff mulch is now available. Mulch can also be made from recycled paper and is equally good in providing all the above requirements.
Let us look at the types of mulches available in market
Pine Needle Mulch
Pine needles landscape mulch or cedar landscape mulch is a special type of mulch is one of the few types of mulch that can give you acidic mulch. It is great for the Azalea, Bluebell, Blueberry, Bog Columbine, Currant, Dogwood, Fir, Geranium, Hosta, Lupine, Meadow Rosemary, Rue, and many other trees.
The common factor in this motley looking crowd is they thrive on acidic soil and the pH balance is provided by the pine tree needles. The going rate for a bale of pine straw needles is about $15. Remember that this will be enough for just 100 square feet. People living in Texas go a long way in getting the pine tree straw. Some times the straw is brought from long distances like Georgia.
Rubberstuff Landscape Mulch
*picture from American Rubber Technologies
A new type of mulch developed by American Rubber Technologies gives you a new kind of mulch. Rubber landscape mulch is made from recycled rubber and nothing else except the dash of color added to the mulch. The mulch is a single time purchase as there is no replacement required for many years.
Benefits of RubberStuff® landscape mulch is
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It does not float when soaked in water
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In strong wind, it is not blown away.
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It can be made in colorful varieties and the color remains fast for a long time.
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It increases the appearance of your garden
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It reduces weed growth
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It is safe for all the plants & trees and can be used in any garden
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It saves time and money for you
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It gives you the colorful look throughout the entire year.
On the down side, the mulch does not do anything to change the pH of the soil and does not contribute to the growth of the tree or plant. The mulch is a colorful replacement for the pea gravel and rocks.
 Recycled Paper Mulch
The best reason for using recycled paper mulch is that it is environment friendly. Many persons use the mulch directly by shredding the paper and using it in the garden. Using the paper this way usually not a very good-looking option and at the same time if the paper was a printed one, the chance are that you are introducing chemicals in you garden through use of recycled paper this way. Some of these chemicals contain dangerous chemicals like lead, tin, or antimony. Uncontrolled quantities going out to atmosphere should be prevented.
Hence, although recycled paper mulch can be used, it should be done with care and only the mulch made by an accredited manufacturer should be used. Such mulch will contain minimum of 85% recycled paper, about moisture of about 13% and rest of it ash. It can also have other additives like fertilizer or grass seeds added to it.
Natural Mulch – Landscape Bark Mulch
Wood chips make good natural mulch. The chips are ground and made into mulch. The natural mulch is closest duplication of what happens in nature and degeneration of natural product into useful convert the useful energy in nature to make new products for you in the natural way. As is the case with recycled paper, the mulch can be mixed with fertilizer or grass seeds for effective utilization of mulch.
The Mulch Industry - Mom & Pop Mulch Stores
The making of mulch is turning in to an industry. Some households are making their backyard into Mom & Pop mulch making outfit and making money out of it. While this is a good income generation activity for the homeowners, it can also take shape of an industry. The quality control in such industry would consist of making sure that you are using the right type of wood for the mulch you are making and the consistency of the process.
The raw material in such industry can be wood chips, cypress bark, pine bark, pine straw, rock chips, and similar material found in nature. The raw material is wood chips and transformed into mulch with out any major manufacturing process.
Persons desirous of making it big into manufacturing of mulch have to understand that this business operates in a smaller scale. The area it can serve is the village or town level and much will depend on the service that you give rather than the mulch itself.
The mulch is normally sold in bales or bags rather than by cubic feet or by weight. Many persons tend to transport the mulch purchased by their own cars so while making a bag of mulch for selling it is preferable to make it into small packets that can be transported in the trunk of car or a utility vehicle.
If properly done the home mulch industry can generate a good income for the family and remember that most of the raw material can be sourced from your own garden.
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