Scroll down to see answers to some frequently asked questions.
If you don't see the information you need, please call our office so we can help.
What wood do we use?
Our mulch is primarily hardwood material, coming from our parent company’s land clearing operations. We do not use skids or building materials.
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What is the difference between Double and Triple Shred?
Double shred mulch is our second grinding, the size of the material will range from fines up to 3" where the Triple shred has been ground a third time making the size range from fines up to 1" pieces.
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What is the difference between the Dyed Brown and the Natural Triple Shred?
The dyed brown is coated with a non-toxic, environmentally friendly spray that, when given proper drying time of at least 24 hours after spreading, could hold its color for a full season or more, depending on conditions. The Natural material has been aged to produce its color with no additives and will fade from the sun.
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What is Mushroom Compost?
Often referred to as Spent Mushroom Substrate (SMS), Mushroom Compost is the growing medium that results from the mushroom growing process. Mushroom Compost is made from agricultural materials, such as hay, straw, straw horse bedding, poultry litter, cottonseed meal, cocoa shells and gypsum. Sphagnum peat moss adds to the organic nature of the substrate.
This stuff is great in the garden!
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In the past I've had mulch leave black spots all over my siding, will your mulch do that too?
Those pesky black spots usually come from something called “Artillery Fungus”. Unfortunately any wood mulch can carry the fungus. It’s a combination of all the right conditions if the fungus will show up. It is more common in the spring and the fall; summer is usually too hot and dry for it to thrive. There is no 100% way to prevent the annoying fungus, but from a little research we’ve tried to come up with the best way to keep it to a minimum for our customers.
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A fresh layer of mulch each year (2-3 inches) can help you see less of the fungus
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If you know you have the fungus in your flower beds from last year, completely remove the existing mulch, and start fresh
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Some testing shows that mushroom soil can drastically reduce the fungi, your plants will thank you if you try this option! The testing that we have read about uses 40% mushroom soil blended into the mulch.
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Composted mulches have shown less of presence of this fungus. The composting process heats the mulch to nearly 200 degrees and seems to inhibit the fungi. Good news! Our mulches are composted!
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Dyed mulches can slightly inhibit the fungus, but only temporarily, if at all. Thoughts on this are the dye seems to make the mulch slightly water repellent to start, giving the fungus less moisture to thrive on.
We’ve included a link so you can check out Penn State’s FAQ page specifically discussing artillery fungus.
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Please also keep in mind, most molds/fungi thrive in warm, moist conditions. If the conditions are right, any mulch will grow almost any fungus. Mulch is a natural/organic material, and unless you start adding lots of harmful chemicals, there is no 100% guarantee to prevent any of it.
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What about insects & poison, do you add chemicals to prevent those?
We pride ourselves in making an all-natural mulch material, which is safe for use around your family. Many of our customers will use our mulch around their vegetables to help keep the weeds manageable. The last thing we want to do is add harmful chemicals that will inevitably leach into the soil and thus into your crops. Also if your little ones want to help with the yard work, we wouldn’t want you to fear what they could be coming in contact with. That goes for our furry family members as well!
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Our mulches do go through a composting process which can reach temperatures of up to 180 degrees. Most living things aren’t going to live through that process.
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We also are in control of the wood being used to make our mulches. Since we make the mulch from our land clearing job sites, we are not purchasing raw material from others without knowing what’s in it. Added bonus that keeps our prices low!