MULCH MILLIONAIRES!

THE GIGANTIC PILE OF MULCH

Let’s talk about MULCH. What is it? It is usually ground up wood, pine needles, or, in some climates, chopped up leaves. Mulch is placed around the bases of plants and shrubs (and even trees) to keep moisture from evaporating out of the soil, and to discourage weeds.

Now, I have read in gardening books that deal with DESIRABLE gardening climates, that one can just cram wet fallen autumn leaves around the bases of plants to discourage weeds, about an inch thick, and that does the job JUST FINE.

But here in Central Texas, where you can have summer temperatures hovering around a hundred and ten (like last summer) and sometimes no rain for two years (like Last Summer), my Central Texas Vegetable Gardening book advises: “apply mulch at least 8 inches thick and preferable a FOOT THICK, and use ground up trees because leaves will just dry up and blow away.”

ANOTHER ANGLE ON THE GIGANTIC MULCH PILE

Sadly, the amount of mulch advised is just so much, even though I am CONSTANTLY on the lookout for ground up trees, and I grind up all my OWN trees whenever possible, I have never had anywhere NEAR enough mulch. Laying it on a foot thick, a HUGE garbage can full of mulch (the super huge kind) will only do about a five by five foot bed. So for a garden like mine, I would need like 35 giant garbage cans full.

At Xmas, the City of AUstin gives away all the ground up Xmas trees (to keep them out of the landfill) and we got load after load after load of the ground up Xmas trees, and I STILL used it all up before I got half the garden mulched (and only about 3 inches deep).

SO!

Davey Tree Service was hired by the City to cut down all the tree limbs in the entire city that threatened power lines. We didn’t really have any, but they came and rooted out a ONE foot tall pecan that was growing where they thought it might eventually in 20 years touch the power line. And I was joking around with the Davey Tree guy and I said, ” I don’t suppose you are GIVING AWAY any of that MULCH for FREE?” (from grinding up the limbs, which they were doing) And I was TOTALLY JOKING, because normally the tree trimming companies give you the STINK EYE when you make jests of that nature.

And the Davey Tree guy said: “HOW MANY TRUCKFULS WOULD YOU LIKE?”

(and I said. “……………one……………..?”)

And then nothing happened for a week, and I figured he forgot. But then we came home last Friday and there was THE HUGEST PILE OF MULCH in front of our house, the photos don’t do it justice!

And today, the following Wednesday, Dave finished shoveling the TEN THOUSAND TONS of mulch into three piles, no FOUR PILES in the backyard. I have mulched about HALF the garden, too, and I have enough mulch to mulch EVERYTHING A FOOR DEEP!!!  EVERYTHING !!!!

WE ARE MULCH MILLIONAIRES!!!

ALL MOVED TO THE BACKYARD BY DAVE THORNBERRY, SUPERHERO.