Anyone tried rubber mulch? (Bowie, Mart: home, buying, organic)

[pobre]

I'm looking into rubber mulch for my yard. We use a great deal of mulch, and I would like to convert to rubber, as buying truckloads and spreading has become much less of a joy than it used to be

I know Sam's and Wal-Mart both carry bags...any thoughts?

[Paka]

Speaking of mulch, as I drove home today heading south on 1604, you would have swore they were GIVING IT AWAY at the Fertile Garden place just off of 1604....there had to be about 50 trucks in line trying to get in and load up!!! Guess everyone has been bitten by the yard bug with spring here!

[Bo]

While I sympathize with the desire to eliminate an annual chore, rubber mulch won't do anything positive for your plants. Wood mulch breaks down and provides nutrients and organic material to the soil as it degrades. The bigger pieces in rubber mulch are more likely to be caught and thrown by a lawnmower, too.

[doss1]

There's another kind of "rubber"--I forgot the specifics, but it's organic and breaks down. Sorry i could not help more.

Personally, i'd stay aware from anything that is not already created by mother nature. Also, don't make an "ant hill" when mulching your trees---I see it all the time. that's bad!

[pobre]

Originally Posted by Bowie

While I sympathize with the desire to eliminate an annual chore, rubber mulch won't do anything positive for your plants. Wood mulch breaks down and provides nutrients and organic material to the soil as it degrades. The bigger pieces in rubber mulch are more likely to be caught and thrown by a lawnmower, too.

Well, right now, we have about 3-5 inches of mulch down under landscape fabric, and another 3 inches on top of it. So the mulch above the fabric won't really reach the soil, anyway. My main goal with mulch is to cool the soil, and retain moisture. Plus look good.

In order to mulch my whole yard, I would need about 20-25 cubic yards, which is 1 and 1/2 trucks full. If it were a small area, no problem. But, it's a back-breaking, time-consuming chore!

[BigDogsTX]

I put the rubber mulch in both my front and back yard last year and I'm very impressed. I tried rubber stuff from Sam's club and the more expensive Dupont brand from Lowes in my back yard.

The dupont brand looks more realistic (finer texture) but it seems to get blown around more easily by the leaf blower. The rubber stuff has held in place very well but it has a coarser look, both of them have the same color as they did when i got it.

It does help the plants by retaining moisture but offer so nutrients so you should miracle grow ocassionally. I used it without landscape fabric and they both seem to do a good job inhibiting weeds by themselves. Its pretty expensive but at least you don't have to worry about doing it again... ever!

Hope this helps!

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by Paka

Speaking of mulch, as I drove home today heading south on 1604, you would have swore they were GIVING IT AWAY at the Fertile Garden place just off of 1604....there had to be about 50 trucks in line trying to get in and load up!!! Guess everyone has been bitten by the yard bug with spring here!

Yeah, we noticed that too! What was going on there?

Cheers! M2

[pobre]

Originally Posted by BigDogsTX

I put the rubber mulch in both my front and back yard last year and I'm very impressed. I tried rubber stuff from Sam's club and the more expensive Dupont brand from Lowes in my back yard.

The dupont brand looks more realistic (finer texture) but it seems to get blown around more easily by the leaf blower. The rubber stuff has held in place very well but it has a coarser look, both of them have the same color as they did when i got it.

It does help the plants by retaining moisture but offer so nutrients so you should miracle grow ocassionally. I used it without landscape fabric and they both seem to do a good job inhibiting weeds by themselves. Its pretty expensive but at least you don't have to worry about doing it again... ever!

Hope this helps!

I did take the plunge and buy the Rubber Stuff from Sam's today. I will be spreading it tomorrow, after I pull/spray the weeds. I like the nugget shape of the mulch. Normally, we used a single shred cedar, so I am liking this new, darker color...

[shenane]

How does the rubber mulch eliminate buying truckloads and spreading? Isn't it the same thing only rubber? Just curious

Originally Posted by pobre

I'm looking into rubber mulch for my yard. We use a great deal of mulch, and I would like to convert to rubber, as buying truckloads and spreading has become much less of a joy than it used to be

I know Sam's and Wal-Mart both carry bags...any thoughts?

[pobre]

Originally Posted by shenane

How does the rubber mulch eliminate buying truckloads and spreading? Isn't it the same thing only rubber? Just curious

Because it doesn't break down, and doesn't need to be freshened (because it ratins it's color, supposedly for 15 years). Therfore, it's a do-it-once job.