Author Topic: Manure instead of mulch?  (Read 2356 times)

aj_yooper

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1090
  • Age: 12
  • Location: Chicagoland
Manure instead of mulch?
« on: May 16, 2013, 04:59:58 PM »
I use a lot of mulch (30 yards per year usually).  Since it is getting expensive, I was wondering if it makes sense to use manure instead of mulch.  I live in a small town with pretty groomed lawns.  I'm the guy with the native plants and lots of shrubs and trees.

Rural

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5051
Re: Manure instead of mulch?
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2013, 07:53:51 PM »
Unless it's well rotted, all that nitrogen will burn your plants. Anything you buy at a big box store will be too nitrogen-heavy to use as mulch.

bogart

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1094
Re: Manure instead of mulch?
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2013, 08:12:12 PM »
I pick up the bags of leaves/grass/etc. that my neighbors put out for pick up and spread them around my (heavily treed) yard for ground cover.  Results are mixed -- my favorite is pine needles, leaves are OK, grass clippings aren't ideal for my purposes, and it's not always obvious what I'm getting (plus I end up with pine cones and gum balls, neither of which I really want) -- but certainly functional, and free.  Plus better for the environment and my tax rate, as if I didn't pick them up the town would, in big trucks.

paddedhat

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2228
Re: Manure instead of mulch?
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2013, 06:53:25 PM »
I had a chuckle when I saw this. Nothing to do with the practical aspects of using poop in this application, but if I did this, my dogs would erect a statue in my honor. A while back, I got a load of well aged horse manure for the garden. The dogs mistakenly assumed that I had taken the time to set a buffet out for them. Every time I found them to be missing, they would be perusing the garden plot, shopping for a delectable bit of horse shit.......... Sometimes they would even drag it back into the house to enjoy later.

englyn

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 422
Re: Manure instead of mulch?
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2013, 07:02:53 PM »
It's not that great for your plants or the environment. Too much food isn't good for plants, they become big and weak. And the nitrogen-rich runoff when it rains promotes algae growth in local water courses (may vary according to climate).

Call some local tree loppers after a nice big storm and see if you can persuade them to drop their truckful at your place for a carton.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!