Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jun 17, 2010 11:00 pm Hi Guys, Having two weeks holidays soon, so have plenty of jobs to do around the house. Want to weed and re mulch the garden beds again. But not sure what to use. Have been using sugar cane mulch so far for about 2 years now, but it seems to break down really quick and we have to replace it. Have looked at getting other mulches that would last longer. Any suggestions? Re: What Mulch do I use? 2Jun 18, 2010 12:46 am There is only one answer in a simple way, and I won't be telling it put the kettle on folks Make sure it isn't composted. I'll do a search in a bit for the tonne of threads I have posted about this topic. I am afraid I will delete anything posted that says use pebbles or black composted mulches Black composted mulches have all sorts of names. Jungle mulch, ecomulch, black mulch, karri and peat mulch, water svaer mulch and the list goes on and on. If it holds water it is rubbish mulch! In the case of Karri and peat where does the Karri come from? The old growth forest and people have seen good timber being mulched rather than it all being a bi product The peat? well it either comes from a wet land area or from the same stuff you pout out for bulk rubbish last year and now you are buying it back to make your garden look good Would have better to have returned it back to the soil at the start at yours Tree lopper mulch is the ducks nuts and there is no shortage of BS about that stuff going round as well as half baked study and poorly researched findings. This goes right to the top of people you recognise on telly in a few cases. where do you think you soil improver's come from in bags? Some potting mixes as well Get the idea ) Mulch net is the way to go and I am assured that the East coast is now far better covered after the owner (who I spoke with) spent some time over there promoting his unique service and attending a few industry seminars for tree people types So east coast services are going to get better and better from now on In winter straws are fairly effective but resist getting imported interstate types to minimise pathogen transfers. Yeah yeah they all say they are fine but I know of people who know their stuff no longer in quarantine or authoritative jobs who are worried about this having looked at batches. They are great at adding to the soil ecosystem of microbes and returning nutrients like nitrogen back to the soil in an effective way. It is the microbes that will be the best benefactor of it However in windy spots or exposed areas in the warmer months with less rainfall, they can wick water from the soil pretty effectively as breeze and evaporation get going across it at the surface. A mate of mine studied it in vineyards. Pretty good as long as the rain comes down Cover them in mid to early spring with tree lopper mulch. Desperately avoid the use of coir mulches. This are just rubbish as mulches and also are imported from overseas as bi products of the palm oil industry from what I know. I am not cool with what happens in that case. They are also very very poor mulches. Very good in the soil but not on it! They hold enormous amounts of water! where do we want the water? in the soil where the roots are not at the surface where it is evaporated most effectively. If you use composted mulches (call them what you will) WA studies are showing at this point that an increase in a gardens water needs will occur. We have till now been told that any mulch is better than no mulch but this isn't looking like being the case! Plant roots grow up into this beautiful rich soil (that is what it is, not mulch) and the dark colours absorb a heap of heat. That means not only is evaporation going to be at a peak but it will be enhanced by wind as well further increasing evaporation. Couple this with the roots that absorb water being at the very surface in the mulch/soil. They will quickly run out of moisture on a hot day. How many of you have watered the garden madly at the end of a hot day only to see that nothing really perks up much? lawns included. Well when the soil drys the fine feeder roots that soak up water die. They take a good 4 weeks to regrow and get back to absorbing water effectively. This is why watering pot plants when they have dried can so tough for some So your black composted mulches sold in bags is not going to be that cool, it looks good but that is all. The rest is going to cost you a motza in many ways later I don't care what certification of water efficiency they have, they just don't cut it. Next we move to wood chips. These are OK but what was the source? Old growth forest? died red to look pretty? These do nothing for returning carbon back to the soil nor boosting soil microbe populations that will take care of you garden for you. They also contain regular shapes and sizes of bits so they never stop blowing around. They just sit there and are a slight step up from black mulch. You want the plants to look good not the mulch and with uncomposted mulches especially from tree loppers, your garden is going to go from strength to strength and you won't care what the mulch looks like. I reckon it looks better anyway and it always smells soooooo good Like the bush after rain The stuff from tree loppers. The bench mark for mulches (and again I have seen to the contrary by people of note) is 75-100mm thick. This goes for any mulch including pebbles. The water will always go through. I can assure you. The soil at the surface will be dry and even a bit deeper. But go deeper still and there it is The roots grow deep and away from the extremes of the surface (like I crapped on about in regard to plant roots growing up into black composted mulches) Even if the soil seems dry it will have a higher moisture content than you think. The soil will also be more friable or at least not go as hard. In the case of sands they will be teaming with life all the more Please don't use weed matt under mulch, or anyone named Matt for that matter ...and they all lived happily ever after THE END That sucks! Hope it all works out. Good to move away from steel anyway for all your reasons, but it's also thermally poor. 16 17773 If what you describe is correct then the brick wall has been dry lined with villa board. 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