There's Some Toxic Mulch Going Around These Days

Mulching, nowadays, has become popular, as a result of benefits it brings to the plants and soil in your garden beds. In certain areas of the country it comes with a caution, though. Some locations, a popular type of mulch comes from shredded hardwood bark, which is a waste product from sawmills. Logs usually are debarked just before being cut, and the mills used to be faced with the problem of getting rid of the bark.

While using bark to make mulch was a handy solution for the lumber yards, but it's not perfect. scarecrow sprinklerTo provide a space-saving strategy, the bark is heaped into piles, which can get very high in winter season when demand is low. The task is completed with front end loaders that, when driven up onto the piles of bark, excessively compress the waste, resulting in a problem for the gardener. The bark material will not decompose unless it's supplied with oxygen, and time, which is achieved by air passing through it. When it's too compacted there is no air flow, causing the mulch to become extremely hot as it decomposes, even to the point of bursting into flames.

The mulch can become toxic due to the build-up of the hot gases which cannot break free. This can cause a foul odor, as you dig into the stack, and a bigger problem as you spread it around your plants. The pent-up gas inside the mulch is usually discharged, which can burn your plants. scarecrow sprinklerDistributing this stuff around your plants could cause them to turn brown in as little as few minutes. If you happen to get a mulch pile like this and it gets distributed on your yard it could turn the grass brown. Regrettably you are going to only know that the mulch was toxic when you discover the undesirable "browning of the green."

Both good and bad mulch have strong, though different, smells when you dig into them, but not everyone can tell the difference. Another pointer is that bad mulch is a touch darker, and if this alerts you to a potential problem you can test it by placing some around a plant that you don't value too much. Be sure that you take mulch from within the pile, and not on the edges. a tip from meIf nothing has happened to the garden plants for more than 24 hours, the mulch will be fine.

This situation probably isn't really that significant of a problem, but when it happens to you, you probably would have liked to know about it. Going to the hassle of mulching and next learning that it had ruined your plants may just make you a little unhappy. Mulching is good for your backyard garden and your plants, but it is good to understand that there is bad mulch, so buy your mulch from a reputable place that stands behind their product.