Mulch

NasConst_land

Any one ever thought about re-dieing mulch? Say u got died mulch and u are taking... say 100 yards of it out, whats to say that you couldnt take that mulch and re-die and then re-use it. Or even better yet.. so many places want new mulch because the color has faded, why not offer re-dieing of it on site.. almost like you go in and spray it.. or paint it lol. Mix your die up in back pack sprayers and go and spray the beds, and it is just like new.

We were screwing around at our shop one day and tried this on a pile of mulch that had been sitting in the back for some time, and it worked quite well. Im sure if came up with a good system it could be done, i was wondering what anyone else thinks or if anyone is already doing this.

i_plant_art

i dont knwo about taking mulch up and re-dying it ...... there is a product on the market thta i have used b4 that mixes up and sprays out on top of existing mulch to give the the "freshly mulched" look but thats about all it does. i forget the name of it..... ill have to look it up and get back to ya if you want it..... i would just keep on using new mulch and let is serve its purpose.

Always Greener

I think you are better off just buying new mulch and take out some of that hard work.. I don't think there is any profit in it..

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NasConst_land

Ya i kinda looked into it, but definently a better idea just to lay new mulch every year or every other year. But hears another thought of mine.

We mulch from a 16 foot flatbed that holds about 15 yards of mulch and then of course dumptrucks, and we fill 20 foot trailers with about 10 yards at a time. So I was thinking why cant we make a mulch blower. Most of the commercial places we mulch the beds are 10 feet or so from pavement. What says you couldnt have one guy man the truck end making sure it has constant mulch, and the other man the end of the hose that blows the mulch on, now by blowing i mean lightly like it just falls out of the 6 inch corrugated tube.

So I tested this theory out, used a versa-vac that we use to suck insulation out of attics on our re-hab houses and blow it into huge bags in the dumpsters how ever far away. We had a steady stream of mulch coming, with 100 feet of hose hooked up, it was awesome.

The one problem is the guy at the end of the hose has no way to control the flow into the bed so him and the guy in the truck have to have constant eye contact to communicate when to stop feeding mulch to it. Could be a problem. We spread 15 yards of mulch, with a temporary set up on the truck in less then a hour. with 3 guys. Theres no way we could do that with wheel barrels hand spreading or even with our mini tractor.

15 yards of mulch brings us 675 dollars, we have 150 in material, so your down to 525. We have 3 man hours, so say 50 dollars by the time figure in taxs and stuff so now we are down to 475. You figure in for the truck and the fuel down to say 400 dollars of profit in 1 hour. Now do this 4 times in one day. Not to shabby.

Call me lazy, but i think this is one hell of an idea, and it can definently work. It cuts our time way down, allows us to spread more mulch with that 1 truck in a day and is easier on the guys. What could be wrong. Obviously this is only worth it if u are spreading mass amounts of mulch, we have several complexs that we drop over 150 yards at every year so it makes it well worth our time. Just another handy idea if you are looking for ways to cut time, and increase profit.

Always Greener

Sounds great....Check this out

http://www.mulchmule.com/home.html

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rjordan392

Hello,
I would find out first from the experts that have a degree in growing plants. The first thing to consider is whether new mulch comes with a natural color. Dyeing it may allow this substance to leach into the ground messing up alkaline/acid balance. If you are a seasoned landscaper, then you should know that mulch over time adds acid to the soil through chemical change. Gardeners correct this with the addition of lime depending on the requirements of the plants. I suspect adding a dye may alter plant growth. You certainly do not want to be faced with a customers sudden death of his plants.

Always Greener

We give this to all customers that want the colored mulch. But bottom line the will get whatever they want for there landscape.


Good landscape mulch is made up primarily of composted bark. Age and heat, generated through the composting process, stabilize the product, which already is partially decayed when it is spread.
Bark mulch is good for plants. When applied correctly, in a layer no more than 2 to 3 inches deep, it helps the soil retain moisture and reduces weed problems.
A layer of mulch over the roots of newly transplanted trees and shrubs keeps the soil from compacting so tender roots get a faster start. It can also help moderate soil temperatures in the face of freezing and thawing cycles, preventing frost-heaving on fall-planted shrubs.
But colored mulch is not in that category. And it has nothing to do with the hue.
Colored mulches are made from shredded, recycled waste wood, primarily pallets and shipping crates. Those products are fabricated from the heartwood and sapwood of logs; they contain no bark.
Since the dyes will only penetrate freshly-shredded wood, coating composted bark with the decorative pigment is not an option.
Gardeners know what freshly-ground wood chips do to their plants. They steal nitrogen from the soil, depriving roots of this most important nutrient. Plants literally starve to death.
The process through which this occurs is fairly complex and involved the relative amounts of carbon and nitrogen present in each product.
Dyed wood is mostly carbon. As a host of micro-organisms in the soil goes to work digesting it, they suck almost all available nitrogen from the top 2 to 3 inches of soil. There's where the majority of new feeder roots grow.
Proponents of dyed mulches suggest adding extra nitrogen fertilizer to supply what the plants need. Experts argue it would take huge amounts to counteract the effects of the mulch.
Also, since nitrogen is volatile and moves quickly through the soil, fertilizer would have to been applied liberally and frequently to overcome nitrogen deficiency during the life of the mulch.
Meanwhile, even if a homeowner was willing to comply with this rather strenuous regimen, what would so much plant food do to the nutrient balance of the soil? Most fertilizers contain phosphorus and potassium in addition to nitrogen. Buildup of the first two - both more stable than nitrogen - could lead to harmful excess.
With annual additions of dyed mulch to "freshen" the appearance of the landscape (cosmetically, this scenario is likely, since the color fades in bright sun), the cycle of nitrogen depletion begins anew.
The concern has to do not with the dyes, which the manufacturer claims are non-toxic to plants, but with the possible contaminants of the wood itself.

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NasConst_land

That Mulch Mule is SWEEEETTT... It has a pretty awesome price tag too hahah I think my little 250 dollar versa vac will do just fine. I dont really need to drop over 40 grand on a piece of equipment. The guy who invented that is the man though.. well or woman who ever it was. If i had money growing on trees id buy one thats for sure.

CGofMP

Cell phones with over the head headsets (if needed perhaps rig this inside some shooting hearing protectors) would solve the line of sight problem.

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Always Greener

Yea we like to get the Mulch Mule but it is a lot of money..... 250 dollars for your thing is great.. good luck

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