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Okay, what are we talking about here? Believe it or not, it’s MULCH!!! According to the N.J. DEP Division of Parks and Forestry, mulch volcanoes are killing trees in New Jersey! As spring gets closer and we start to think about cleaning up our yards, mulching the trees is a subject that needs to be addressed.

Mulch has many good properties, and there are lots of reasons for using it, but it needs to be properly applied. Mulch should be placed no closer than 6 inches from the trunk of the tree. It should be no deeper than 2-4 inches, and should not extend past the drip-line of the tree. Piling up mulch around the base of a tree provides places for mice, insects, and fungus to hide next to the trunk, and feed on parts of the tree. Too much mulch also prevents water from reaching the tree’s roots. Mulch “volcanoes” encourage root systems to grow laterally instead of deeply, which causes the tree to be more susceptible to uprooting. Not only that, you are wasting your money on excess material.

Here is a list of good materials to use for mulch:

 

  • Pine needles
  • One-year-old wood chips
  • Leaves that have been shredded and composted for at least three months

 

  • Bark Chunks or shredded bark at least 3/8 inch in size. Pine bark will last longer than hardwood bark.

Here is a list of mulches to AVOID:

 

  • Fresh grass clippings or fresh wood chips
  • Any organic fresh mulch
  • Any organic mulch that smells bad
  • Peat moss or sawdust
  • Pebbles, rocks, or cobblestones
  • Bricks or pavement or black plastic

 

  • Ground up rubber tire

REMEMBER! MAKE DONUTS NOT VOLCANOES!
From the Home and School Bulletin, April 2003