A good mulch.

[Wingnut]

What do you recommend?

[RoosGirl]

Nothing says "Florida Native" like Pine Bark

[goodwithagun]

Anything you can get for free from a tree cutting service.

[Wingnut]

Nothing says "Florida Native" like Pine Bark

Yeah..  I ain't buying it.     The shit floats away like Gilligan on a three hour cruise.

[RoosGirl]

Yeah..  I ain't buying it.     The shit floats away like Gilligan on a three hour cruise.

Nothing says "Yankee" like someone who got conned into buying poorly drained/elevated property.

[Wingnut]

Nothing says "Yankee" like someone who got conned into buying poorly drained/elevated property.

Or someone who owns swampland in central Florida,

[RoosGirl]

Or someone who owns swampland in central Florida,

We live on a big sand hill with about 40' of elevation change over the length of our property.  If all of ManBearPig's predictions come true we're going to cash in and sell our beachfront property.

[Wingnut]

We live on a big sand hill with about 40' of elevation change over the length of our property.  If all of ManBearPig's predictions come true we're going to cash in and sell our beachfront property.

Good to know;  I figured we would all be renting from Ambassador FC in ten years

[GtHawk]

Lot's of good minerals with this one


Sorry...

Oh wait, you asked about mulch, not fertilizer................my bad!

[roamer_1]

https://www.backtoedenfilm.com/

irregular chips from a tree service, preferred with plenty of leaf material.
Watch the movie.

[RoosGirl]

https://www.backtoedenfilm.com/

irregular chips from a tree service, preferred with plenty of leaf material.
Watch the movie.

That's for gardening with.  I think he's asking about for landscaping.

[roamer_1]

That's for gardening with.  I think he's asking about for landscaping.

Ahh... That would be landscaper's cloth and washed rock...

[goodwithagun]

https://www.backtoedenfilm.com/

irregular chips from a tree service, preferred with plenty of leaf material.
Watch the movie.

That’s the method I use!

[Idaho_Cowboy]

Gonna go with Roamer and say rocks. They don't wear away and you can just use round up to keep the weeds down.

If you want plants use bark. It's all the same.

[Cyber Liberty]

Gonna go with Roamer and say rocks. They don't wear away and you can just use round up to keep the weeds down.

If you want plants use bark. It's all the same.

That's why I have a gravel lawn around my Castle.  Next best thing to a Moat. 

[RoosGirl]

Rock looks nice, but down here it's WAY more expensive than mulch; $3 / 0.5 cu. ft. for rock or $2 / 2 cu. ft. for mulch.

[Bigun]

Pine straw is excellent, and around here, free for the taking.  Lasts longer than most other stuff as well in my experience.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Whatever is cheapest at Home Despot.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Gonna go with Roamer and say rocks. They don't wear away and you can just use round up to keep the weeds down.

If you want plants use bark. It's all the same.

Nice thing about rocks is you can use a weed torch without worry.

[Cyber Liberty]

Nice thing about rocks is you can use a weed torch without worry.

That's Mrs. Liberty's favorite weeding accessory.  There is something satisfying about watching the wretched little weeds curl up and burst into flames.  I tried to tell her she doesn't have to actually ignite the weed to kill it, but what satisfaction can be derived from that? 

It's like not smashing a cockroach, instead hitting it hard enough to crawl off somewhere and croak.

[Dexter]

I personally wouldn't use anything with dye in it. The weather slowly washes it away. I'm no expert but I doubt that's good for your lawn.

[roamer_1]

Rock looks nice, but down here it's WAY more expensive than mulch; $3 / 0.5 cu. ft. for rock or $2 / 2 cu. ft. for mulch.

Well, the rocks you buy once...
But I did LOL at the cost of rock... I get rock between 3 and 7  bucks a YARD, depending on the type... but a 1" washed river rock, typical for ornamental plantings, would be around 3/yd.

[roamer_1]

Pine straw is excellent, and around here, free for the taking.  Lasts longer than most other stuff as well in my experience.

I guess pine straw is what we'd call duff - The litter from under a pine tree... Works fine as a mulch , but is highly acidic. So only would work for plants that like acidic ph...

[Bigun]

I guess pine straw is what we'd call duff - The litter from under a pine tree... Works fine as a mulch , but is highly acidic. So only would work for plants that like acidic ph...

Like maters for instance.

[roamer_1]

Whatever is cheapest at Home Despot.

Nope, WAY better buying by the yard, if you have a pickup truck.

[Cyber Liberty]

I personally wouldn't use anything with dye in it. The weather slowly washes it away. I'm no expert but I doubt that's good for your lawn.

I'm with you on this, @Dexter.

[Cyber Liberty]

Nope, WAY better buying by the yard, if you have a pickup truck.

At least a 3/4 ton pick um up.

[roamer_1]

Like maters for instance.

Right, but most things don't like it acidic... The funny thing about the Back to Eden method - ph don't seem to matter. 

[bigheadfred]

Well, the rocks you buy once...
But I did LOL at the cost of rock... I get rock between 3 and 7  bucks a YARD, depending on the type... but a 1" washed river rock, typical for ornamental plantings, would be around 3/yd.

A friend of my wife asked her one day where we got our river rock...

She told them Winston was a rock hound. (Best fishing buddy ever, too.)

[roamer_1]

At least a 3/4 ton pick um up.

Well, yes - Depends on what and which... A half ton would take a yard of bark mulch. Might will take a yard of 3/4 crushed gravel... if it's an older truck from back when they meant it. I would not worry about a yard of gravel on the back of a 70's or 80's chevy 1/2T Heavy (6 hole)... But she'd be riding on the bumpers, for sure...

[roamer_1]

A friend of my wife asked her one day where we got our river rock...

She told them Winston was a rock hound. (Best fishing buddy ever, too.)

LOL! One piece at a time! Each a fishing trip souvenir... If you can fill a flowerbed that way, you've been busy fishing.

 

[RoosGirl]

Well, the rocks you buy once...
But I did LOL at the cost of rock... I get rock between 3 and 7  bucks a YARD, depending on the type... but a 1" washed river rock, typical for ornamental plantings, would be around 3/yd.

You'd think you only buy rocks once, but I have an area out back just off the porch where the dogs travel to get out of and into the house.  I put rock out because it helps knock the sand off their feet and keep it out of the house.  We put a few inches down and put concrete block meant to edge landscape areas/retaining wall around the outside edge.  After a few years that rock is scattered around past that outside edge and we're down to bare dirt in some spots.

[Cyber Liberty]

You'd think you only buy rocks once, but I have an area out back just off the porch where the dogs travel to get out of and into the house.  I put rock out because it helps knock the sand off their feet and keep it out of the house.  We put a few inches down and put concrete block meant to edge landscape areas/retaining wall around the outside edge.  After a few years that rock is scattered around past that outside edge and we're down to bare dirt in some spots.

Absolutely correct, and I can't figure out how that gravel at my old house got intermingled.  Wind?  Heckuva windstorm.  The most a good Haboob can kick up is a lot of sub-micron dust.

[RoosGirl]

Absolutely correct, and I can't figure out how that gravel at my old house got intermingled.  Wind?  Heckuva windstorm.  The most a good Haboob can kick up is a lot of sub-micron dust.

Yeah, and with the money it cost us to put that rock down I'm hesitant to do it again.

[Cyber Liberty]

Yeah, and with the money it cost us to put that rock down I'm hesitant to do it again.

Use pavers next time?

[RoosGirl]

Use pavers next time?

The porch is pavers, it just ends up covered up with sand.  I'm always trying to think up something that will work and it all does, for varying lengths of time but never permanently.

[Cyber Liberty]

The porch is pavers, it just ends up covered up with sand.  I'm always trying to think up something that will work and it all does, for varying lengths of time but never permanently.

Well, you could always pour some 'crete...

Nah.  Not even if you're covering it in astroturf.  N/M

 

[roamer_1]

You'd think you only buy rocks once, but I have an area out back just off the porch where the dogs travel to get out of and into the house.  I put rock out because it helps knock the sand off their feet and keep it out of the house.  We put a few inches down and put concrete block meant to edge landscape areas/retaining wall around the outside edge.  After a few years that rock is scattered around past that outside edge and we're down to bare dirt in some spots.

  Confucius say:
Use bigger rocks. 

[roamer_1]

Absolutely correct, and I can't figure out how that gravel at my old house got intermingled.  Wind?  Heckuva windstorm.  The most a good Haboob can kick up is a lot of sub-micron dust.

Depends upon the rock, too - All y'all are more likely to use lava rock, which degrades rather quickly... same with sandstone, etc.

[Cyber Liberty]

Depends upon the rock, too - All y'all are more likely to use lava rock, which degrades rather quickly... same with sandstone, etc.

True about the material I had.  Sure ain't Granite.

[RoosGirl]

Mine was 1" - 3" river rock.

[bigheadfred]

Mine was 1" - 3" river rock.

Did you try any containment? Like railroad ties?

[roamer_1]

Mine was 1" - 3" river rock.

I like 1" washed rock... I bedded a lot of beds in pea gravel, all the way to 3/4 washed... The stuff will not stay in the bed (even as you complain)... 2" starts to be hard to walk on... And I don't like the finished texture as well either (according to sight).

If you want it to stay put, use shale. It is irregular and sharp in shape, and binds like the dickens.

[RoosGirl]

Did you try any containment? Like railroad ties?

We used retaining wall blocks like this;

[RoosGirl]

I like 1" washed rock... I bedded a lot of beds in pea gravel, all the way to 3/4 washed... The stuff will not stay in the bed (even as you complain)... 2" starts to be hard to walk on... And I don't like the finished texture as well either (according to sight).

If you want it to stay put, use shale. It is irregular and sharp in shape, and binds like the dickens.

I can't have anything sharp for the dogs to walk over.  Last thing I want to take care of are cut up pads.

[roamer_1]

I can't have anything sharp for the dogs to walk over.  Last thing I want to take care of are cut up pads.

Nah. Dogs up here do fine with it... if it is sharp, they won't walk on it.

[RoosGirl]

Nah. Dogs up here do fine with it... if it is sharp, they won't walk on it.

LOL  The point of it is to get them to walk on it before they come in the house to knock the sand off their feet.  Jesus H, has anyone been paying attention to what I've said.   

[bigheadfred]

We used retaining wall blocks like this;

Sand has some fluidity so I know how those would shift. A railroad tie can be staked in place, but still might not hold in sand over time. But they shouldn't shift as much as a rock.

If you can't get used ties maybe landscaping timbers would work. They are usually inexpensive. As is rebar for staking.

[Wingnut]

I decided to just use Round-Up as often and liberally.

[RoosGirl]

Sand has some fluidity so I know how those would shift. A railroad tie can be staked in place, but still might not hold in sand over time. But they shouldn't shift as much as a rock.

If you can't get used ties maybe landscaping timbers would work. They are usually inexpensive. As is rebar for staking.

Those big blocks we haven't really had trouble keeping in place.  It's all the smaller rock that they're supposed to be keeping in that has been disappearing.