Beware of Toxic Mulch

Article by: Michael J. McGroarty

Mulching beds , Replace the White Birch With River Birches In The Dublin Pa. Area has become extremely popular these days, and mulch can be really beneficial to your plants , Hazards posed by Spas, Hot Tubs, and Whirlpools. and the soil , The Beautiful Rose of Sharon in your planting beds, , Patio Awnings but there are things you need to watch for.

Here in Ohio the most popular type of mulch that people use is shredded hardwood bark mulch, which is a byproduct of the timber , Hazards posed by Spas, Hot Tubs, and Whirlpools. industry. When they haul the logs into the sawmill the first thing they do is debark them. Years ago the bark was a huge problem for the mills because there didn't seem to be a useful purpose for it, until people realized the hidden benefits that it held. Still to this day, the bark is a headache for the saw mills, and they don't always understand how to , Stop Dreaming! Magically Transform Your Garden By Night properly handle it.

They like to pile it as high as they can so it takes up less space in their yard. , Ladder Décor – the Possibilities are Endless The mulch really tends to back up during the winter , Strategic Marketing and Tactical Marketing Know The Differen months because there is little demand for it. In order for the mills to pile the mulch high, they literally have to drive the large front end loaders up onto the pile. Of course the weight of these large machines compacts the mulch in the pile, and this can become a huge problem for you or I if we happen to get some mulch that has been stacked too high, and compacted too tightly.

When the trees , Stop Dreaming! Magically Transform Your Garden By Night are first debarked the mulch is fairly fresh, and needs to decompose before we dare use it around our plants. , Peace of Mind for Home Inspections The decomposition process requires oxygen and air , Solar Pumps and Solar Lights for Ponds flow into the pile. When the mulch is compacted too tight, this air , Four Ways to Make a Beautiful Bunch of Dry Flowers flow cannot take place, , Re the White Birch With River Birches In The Dublin Pa. Area and as the mulch continues to decompose it becomes extremely hot , Hazards posed by Spas, Tubs, and Whirlpools. as the organic , Plant Floribunda Roses For All-Season Blooms matter ferments. Sometimes the extreme heat , A New Model for High School Curriculum combined with the inability to release the heat , Bonsai Tree care can cause the pile to burst into flame through spontaneous combustion.

In other cases the mulch heats , A Look at Duvet Cover Sets up, cannot release the gas, , Bonsai Tree care and the mulch actually becomes toxic. When this occurs the mulch develops an overbearing odor that will take your breath away as you dig into the pile. When you spread this toxic mulch around your plants , Gardening - Lawn Maintenance Chores Part II the gas , strange carbs and cams it contains is released, and this gas , Shaw Carpet can and will burn your plants. , Solar Pumps and Solar Lights for Ponds

It has happened to me twice. Once at my own house, , How To Use Annuals In Landscaping Your Garden and once on a job I was doing for a customer. This toxic mulch is very potent. We spilled a little mulch in the foliage of a Dwarf Alberta Spruce that we were mulching around, and just a few minutes later brushed the mulch out of the plant. , Four Ways to Make a Beautiful Bunch of Dry Flowers The next day my customer noticed that one side of the plant , Ladder Décor – the Possibilities are Endless was all brown. The mulch had only been there for a matter of minutes.

Not only did I have to replace the Dwarf Alberta Spruce, but the mulch also damaged at least 10 other plants , Fall Garden Planning - Garden plans for next spring and ordering by mail that I had to replace. I once saw where somebody ordered a truck load of mulch, had it dumped in their driveway, and as the toxic mulch slid out of the dump truck onto the asphalt the toxic gas , The American Arborvitae Grows well in Troy Pa. that was released settled on the lawn , The American Arborvitae Grows well in Troy Pa. next to the driveway.

The gas, , Relaxation in the garden starts with a Swing Bed not the mulch, turned the grass , Relaxation in the garden starts with a Swing Bed brown next to the mulch pile.

This same person spread several yards , Shaw Carpet of the mulch around their house , Sky Pencil Hollies Are Used in Easton Pa. before they realized the problem, and it ruined many of their plants. , Fall Bird Feedings

Now here's the hard part; trying to explain to you how to , Ladder Décor – the Possibilities are Endless identify toxic mulch. It has a very strong odor that will take your breath away. But then again almost all mulch has a powerful odor. This is very different than your typical mulch smell, but I can't explain it any better than that.

The mulch looks perfectly normal, maybe a little darker in color , Get your Lawn Mower prepared for winter. than usual. If you suspect a problem with the mulch you have, take a couple of shovels full, and place , Gardening - Lawn Maintenance Chores Part II it around an inexpensive plant. , strange carbs and cams Maybe just a couple of flowers. , A Gardener's Diary When doing this test use mulch from inside , 5 Pieces of Equipment Gardeners Can’t Live Without the mulch pile and not from the edges. The mulch on the edge of the pile has more than likely released most of the toxic gas , Relaxation in the garden starts with a Swing Bed that it may have held.

If after 24 hours the test plants , Hazards posed by Spas, Hot Tubs, and Whirlpools. are okay, the mulch should be fine. The
purpose of this article is not to induce panic at the mulch yard, , Sky Pencil Hollies Are Used in Easton Pa. but toxic mulch can do serious damage. At my house , Solar Pumps and Solar Lights for Ponds it burned the leaves right off some of the plants , How To Divide Perennials in my landscape, , How to Get Rid of Standing Water in Your Yard and burned the grass , Tips to Improve the Functionality and Atmosphere of Your Patio with Plants next to the bed , Fall Bird Feedings all the way around the house. , A New Model for High School Curriculum It looked like somebody had taken a torch and burned the grass , From The Science Desk back about 2" all the way around the bed. , Strategic Marketing and Tactical Marketing Know The Differen If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it.

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Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening , Replace the White Birch With River Birches In The Dublin Pa. Area newsletter. Article provided by gardening-articles.com

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