Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 @ 10:26 AM
Fall is the time everyone recommends mulching your garden beds. Garden calendars, magazine articles, websites, and blogs (like this one) all tout the benefits of mulching and the advantages of doing it in the fall.
Mulching in fall -
- adds organic matter to the soil to lighten and enrich it
- prevents erosion by winter rains
- helps keep roots from freezing
- warms soil for earlier spring planting
- prevents weed seedlings from getting started
So, you're sold. Mulching is good. But, what do you use - exactly? There are quite a number of bags in the nursery or garden center to choose from.
A mulch can be any type of organic material - bark dust, bark nuggets, shredded bark, compost, compost/bark blends, pine needles, fallen leaves, straw, and so on. There isn't really one "right" choice.
Fallen leaves are best chopped up before being used either in the garden or in the compost pile. Straw may not break down fully over the winter season, but it is a great garden cover and can be tilled into the soil come spring.
If you desire color for your landscaped beds EnviroColor is an inexpensive and safe way to top spray the color you desire. We know color is a choice or opinion and is not for every gardener. We are proud that our product meets the Mulch and Soil Council (MSC) Colorants Sub-Committee meet the requirements.
EnviroColor recently went the so called "six-pack" test for toxicology. The test is commonly used to check the toxicity of things like pesticides and insecticides and is used to ensure that products are labeled properly to guide consumers use of potentially toxic products. Six test are performed, checking the material on:
- Acute oral toxicity
- Acute dermal toxicity
- Acute inhalation toxicity
- Eye irritation
- Dermal irritation
- Skin irritation
Depending on the toxicity discovered in each test, different labeling must be on the packages containing the product.
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Sep 09, 2009 @ 07:22 AM
My two dogs have ruined my backyard! I noticed at the local dog park they used a nice dark brown colored mulch and I knew this was the solution to my problem. I went to my local 'big box' home improvement center after I determined how much mulch was needed to turn my dilapidated back yard into a fun, save and aesthetically pleasing dog run. I figured I need approximately 50 cubic yards to get the proper thickness to deal with drainage etc. so each bag covers 2-3 feet at 1 1/2 inches thick at nearly $4.00 dollars per bag, whoa! Too expensive for this frugal consumer. I called a couple of mulch yards and still out of my budget. Now I Google colored mulch. Up pops "EnviroColor." This water-based, non-toxic solution is harmless to the environment, surrounding plants and wildlife. Cool! I called the local tree service and they dropped off a truck load of "free, yes free" hardwood mulch. I toiled with the wheelbarrow and pitchfork to fill my ailing back yard with the wood chips and then got out the old STIHL backpack sprayer and followed the instructions on the 64 ounce bottle of EnviroColor I purchased on line. I will admit it took me a while and a couple of coats to get my desired color, but wow what an great, inexpensive perfect solution to my situation. So after a $40.00 spent on EnviroColor and a wee bit of elbow grease, I have a beautiful back yard dog run that is safe for the pets and english ivy that is creeping through the fence. So, instead of spending hundreds of dollars, or maybe even thousands to have it installed I got exactly what my pups needed with the added benefit of fixing the erosion issue that had developed since the dogs had killed all the grass. I promise to post a picture of the end result. I really wish I would have done before and after to ensure everyone could see what a transformation was made. If you have the time and are interested in a inexpensive colored mulch alternative, free mulch from your tree service and EnviroColor is the way to go!
www.envirocolor.com