free mulch! (forum)

snottiegobble starts with ...
Anyone heard of the free mulch scheme?
It operates around Perth & nationally now I believe.
It is a great way of getting free mulch from tree trimmers, fellers/ mulchers working in your area who would normally make trips back & forth to dump their loads & wasting fuel, time etc.
Log on to www.MulchNet.com
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Time: 17th April 2010 2:47am

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About the Author snottiegobble
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Charles cant spell says...
I can vouch for it. I have had 3 loads 10 cubes each. Ocassionally you get a bit of palm tree leaf that hasn't mulch but its generally good quality. Also bear in mind you will generally get a whole truck load 10 cubic meters so make sure you have a decent amount of space on your verge. The is a mechanism in the site for advertising your excess mulch also it works well to get it off you lawn once you have got enough for your self. I haven't had to bother with that as I mulch a foot deep so that uses plenty.

The other thing to bear in mind is that beach it is tree mulch and contains leaves and bark etc the is no nitrogen leaching/binding, as there might be with pure wood chips.

I am using tree mulch on my garden beds and I so far have had no issues, after 3-4 months a 5mm layer of nice black degraded material to mix back into the bed when I change crops. Obviously there is a 50mm layer of heavy mulch that needs to be scooped off else your bed will be full of lumps.

Where i don't have grass I have this mulch, edging, garden beds, fruit trees etc, though one thing I would suggest if you walk around bear footed most the time don't put this stuff down, it is sharp and splintery. I use sawdust for my paths to avoid this. Throw a bit of Blood n bone and sheep manure under the sawdust and each 3 months you can dig you paths up and use them as potting mix.

Time: 17th April 2010 9:33pm

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Original Post was last edited: 17th April 2010 9:37pm

About the Author Charlesstillcantspell1
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amanda says...
Nice tamarillos snottiegobble! Our tree loppers etc sell theirs here....no freebies at all :-( about $200 or so, 10-14cum - you guys are really lucky!

I buy it when they do fresh acacias (nitrogen fixers) the only problem batch I had was one from a garden supplier who had "fermented" everything and it was full of awful bits n pieces (glass, tennis balls, cow ear tags etc) mouldy n not uniform-ish in size. It made my soil really water repellant.

Now I like to buy the pure woodchips and add my own stuff. As it breaks down - it makes the soil beautiful!
I like it because it's chunky and lets the rain thru'.

Time: 17th April 2010 11:18pm

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About the Author amanda19
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Jimmy says...
If its got extra stuff in it, it comes from the tip where the council munches up greewaste.

Thus lazy people do not put down clean green watse and the council don't pick it out, lots of sand and soil mixed in to spread weeds/disease etc.

It then ferments in huge piles til they get round to selling it.

Time: 18th April 2010 2:23pm

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snottiegobble says...
The stuff I get is straight from the site where it was mulched, & it doesnt have any contamination in it at all.
I use it straight away round natives, but not up against the base of each plant & no more than 5cm thick. You can leave it break down, but then I suggest wearing a mask because part of the process includes a fungus that releases spores into the air when the mound is disturbed. ( looks like smoke) This is not good to breathe in & can cause a form of legionaires called espialodosis.
I once lost 3 ducks to this disease after they had their beaks in newly spread semi-aged mulch & also a friend spent 2 weeks in hospital after spreading half rotted mulch. Amazingly the doctors used tinnea cream to draw the fungus through her chest.

Time: 19th April 2010 12:56am

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Grubs says...
In our area of Melbourne tree mulch is $100-$200 a truckload and there is often a waiting list. The only guys that seem to give it away for free is the local council when they come past to prune the street trees.... and then you have to be quick to beat the neighbours!

The lung mould disease is Aspergillosis

I think espialodosis was in the movie "Mary Poppins"

Time: 19th April 2010 1:08am

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JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
I am looking for some canola bales to buy as mulch for my Melbourne garden. I have not found any.

Time: 19th April 2010 7:53am

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snottiegobble says...
You are dead right Grub! What a drongo I`d be. Isnt it supercalafragilistic-- something ot other??
The aspergillosis is no " mary poppins" though because it kills some folk! Thats why the potting mix companies write " open with caution in a ventilated area" on their bags.

Time: 19th April 2010 3:36pm

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kert says...
Potting mix has sometimes contained Legionaires Disease .Hence the warning "to be opened by mother in law."

Time: 19th April 2010 5:14pm

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amanda says...
Without wanting to harp on...all keen gardener's should inform their GP what they handle....it's important clinical info. Aspergillus is a fungus - not usually a problem for healthy folk.

Legionnaires is a bacterium and another story. Many of the gardening folk who end up in hospital have a Listeria (a different bacterium) pneumonia - quite serious stuff also.
Mouldy hay n straw is potentially very dangerous - if you don't want to wear a dust mask - at least handle it "upwind". I am not neurotic about most germs....but I don't muck around with mouldy hay or "fermented" mulches, manures...

I happen to love my mother in law and will be one one-day myself..cringe..)

And it's "super-calafragalistic-expe-ala-docious"...!? he he

Have fun guys!



Time: 20th April 2010 11:57pm

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About the Author amanda19
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Jimmy says...
Charles where are you?

I have repeateldy signed up for free mulch and never got it.

The chick down the road had to pay top dollar and harass the website guy to get some ie 200 bucks plus beer.

I'm Blemont.

Time: 21st April 2010 1:31pm

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Charles cant spell says...
Wow, that doesnt sound very good. I wasn't ready for the last lot as it came within a week, the others where a month or so wait (free delivery that is) I am in Innaloo, as per my posts location label. As I recall its always one tree company that delivers to me, I thought it was Dickies but cant be sure. Have you sent an email directly to Tim to ask why the delays or what you could do to speed things up?

You could try contacting the local tree pruners, as Belmont should have plenty of trees being removed/pruned etc.

I must admit I was recently going to get a mulcher through Tim and he didn't respond to my emails/messages for ages (unlike before when we where conversing freely), maybe he is away or moved on and things are not running smoothly as a result. I gave up and got the bunnings ryobi silent mulcher 2400W which is brilliant, so much so that I took one down to my mum on the farm and went and got another.

Time: 21st April 2010 3:11pm

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About the Author Charlesstillcantspell1
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Brad says...
Jimmy - Did you know you can also try see if anyone near you has excess from their delivery?
http://www.mulchnet.com/index.php?excess-mulch-search


Time: 21st April 2010 4:12pm

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Brad says...
ok I'm stretching the topic on free mulch... but can any of those shredders take a newspaper?

(I recently got a larger compost bin than I know how to fill from my small block. I don't have the time or patience to shred slowly in a paper shredder)

Time: 21st April 2010 4:16pm

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snottiegobble says...
I would also like to know if these mulchers can shred newspaper as I have free access to it. It seems the only good ones available are office shredders for A4 printing paper only.
Charles C.S, does your Bunnings ryobi shred newspaper & if so what is the cost of one.

Time: 22nd April 2010 1:18am

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Jimmy says...
The mulch guy seems not to be interested in selling mulchers anymore.

I bought the GMC silnet mulcher and love it, it self feeds and saves soo much time.

I reckon it would not do much of a job on paper as the mechanism is a spiked roller against a sharp stationary knife.

The greenfield piecemaker mulcher (petrol) will do it as will the mulcher from Bentley, www.yardeco.com.au

Time: 22nd April 2010 11:41am

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Charles cant spell says...
Snottie,

I rolled up a local newspaper (the thin ones) put it in and it went fine. Takes a little while to clear out the last bits (i use an old pine pokeing stick, 4" by 1/2" to poke and clean blades. BAsically they hate wet stuff, as the silent ones use a gear (teeth on a choke that phsically meets a plate of steel). This is not a large area so lots of leaves and wet bark (hybiscus fresh are terrible, let them dry no worries)
So yes, the newspaper is cut into 1-2" segments as that is the distance between the gears teeth as they physically rub the plate. The ryobi one i got was $319 at bunnings, there are cheaper ones, GMC and ozito, the feedback from the guys in the shop was ozito comes back every second time it gets used, so the extra $80 for the ryobi is well worth it. Also the ryobi has far better build quality in the frame etc. Go in you can see the differences and cutting mechanisms.

From what I can tell the silent ones use the gear typoe teeth, the noisy ones use the old lawn mower blade type shredder. I.e. mine is more of a chipper, the other is more of a mulcher, if that makes sense.

Jimmy - Tim has his hands-full in a few areas, hes also deputy head of Men of the tree and other enviro areas. I wouldnt want to sell mulchers either, using one relies on the person being sensibly and logical, something that is very rare with people that want a mulcher toy for there crappy landscape plants.

Time: 22nd April 2010 1:00pm

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Original Post was last edited: 22nd April 2010 1:02pm

About the Author Charlesstillcantspell1
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snottiegobble says...
Thanks fellas, it looks like I will be spending $319 at Bunnings!

Time: 25th April 2010 1:55am

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Stef says...
I got mulch from Mulchnet twice. Never again.

Both it was full of unshredded palm leaves and rubbish. First time was particularly bad with shredded milk cartons, plastic cups etc. It was a nightmare. I ended up with this mountain of unusable mulch on my verge. it was so full of palms I couldn't get a fork through it.

Basically what these guys do is dump their unsellable mulch on your verge to avoid paying to depose of it at the tip.

First time I thought I was unlucky, second time I concluded this must be there practice.

Time: 17th February 2015 3:45pm

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