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Rubber mulch?| Member | Message |
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Posted: Mar/06/2009 9:34 AM PST
My husband is thrifty as the day is long and he is dead set on rubber mulch cause it dosent decompose and will last a good 10years. I am thinking that is a whole lot like putting garbage on my plants. It dose look like wood and comes in 2 colors but is it really a good choice for the enviroment. We do try to be green where we can and rubber mulch just seems wrong. Anybody use it ? Can you give some feedback? |
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Posted: Mar/06/2009 9:58 AM PST
There is an article in Organic Gardening magazine this month concerning rubber mulch. They don't recommend using it. Apparently, rubber leaches heavy metals into the soil (specifically zinc), and heat causes rubber to release VOC's (volatile organic compounds). Sounds particularly bad for use in a vegetable garden. Personally, I wouldn't use it in my garden. |
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Posted: Mar/06/2009 11:20 AM PST
I read somewhere that if you have real hot summers with broilng sun, it is not good because it has a tendency to cook the roots. If it is to be used under shrubs where it is shady, not so bad. I don't know a thing about the voc's, etc. The only good of it seems to be that they are recycling the rubber, instead of burying it in the ground. |
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Posted: Mar/08/2009 4:02 PM PST
well i have heard enough do not want rubber mulch it not natural and would rather have wood chips like my neighbors. |
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Posted: Mar/09/2009 9:01 PM PST
I will say I do use the rubber mulch on the paths around the l shaped garden. I was given a bag by a grateful neighbor last year, and the l shaped gardens are surrounded by a tall wooden fence on the outside and a small knee high fence on the front. the path is maybe 16 -20 inches across, since I do most of my gardening barefoot it's nice and soft to walk on and since that garden surrounds a rather large shed and is not seen by the street or sidewalks, it works well for me. I would not put it in with any of the plants though. |
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Posted: Mar/10/2009 5:19 PM PST
I at first liked the idea that it would last for years without having to be replaced. Then I started thinking about it not putting anything of value back into the soil and also what if I don't like having that flower bed right there any more and wanted to move it. So I decided against using it. I would think that it would hold in more heat than regular mulch too. Under swing sets and places where little kids might be prone to fall down probably would be a good use for this kind of stuff but not in my flower or veg garden. |
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