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landscaping fabric under rubber mulch

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#2 ·
anneofgreengardens93 said:
i have a client who is thinking about switching to rubber mulch, i have never used rubber mulch.
has anyone ever had success with these products together?

not seeing many great things about it.
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I wouldn't. When you blow out the beds in autumn, you will end up with rubber on the lawn that will never decompose.
 
#3 ·
I have rubber mulch underneath my kids swing set. It is great for that. I also put fabric down under, its been about 2+ years without any real growth through it. As far as using it in a garden...I wouldn't really want to have to deal with that long term. Maybe if all the plants were fake too as a "set it and forget it'. But an active garden bed, I think it would be a PITA.
 
#4 ·
We have a client who switched to it 2 years ago. Every month I get an email from her complaining about the mulch being out of the beds. The guys barely use the blowers now on it and it still flys out.

If it’s a contained area like a playground I’m sure it’s fine. But in a bed…? Nope.

I have also heard it’s not good for plants.
 
#6 ·
I wish this would go away. You’re buying toxic waste and spreading it all over your living environment.

Start a tire collection center in your yard and charge people to take their used tires. See how long you can stay open.

but chop it up, add more dye and call it mulch and you can sell and spread it everywhere. It off gasses, it smells in the sun, it’s not good for you, your soil, your plants etc. it should t even be an option.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Locke Lamora said:
I have rubber mulch underneath my kids swing set. It is great for that. I also put fabric down under, its been about 2+ years without any real growth through it. As far as using it in a garden...I wouldn't really want to have to deal with that long term. Maybe if all the plants were fake too as a "set it and forget it'. But an active garden bed, I think it would be a PITA.
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sorry, it would be a pita?
 
#8 ·
anneofgreengardens93 said:
sorry, it would be a pita?
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pain in the a**. It isn't smooth to work with like wood mulch, and harder to clean up, just not pleasant to work with. I only used it in a limited space because its softer when my little kids fall off the slide or a ladder climbing around.
 
#9 ·
EricC said:
I wish this would go away. You’re buying toxic waste and spreading it all over your living environment.

Start a tire collection center in your yard and charge people to take their used tires. See how long you can stay open.

but chop it up, add more dye and call it mulch and you can sell and spread it everywhere. It off gasses, it smells in the sun, it’s not good for you, your soil, your plants etc. it should t even be an option.
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Beat me to it!

Right up there with flouridated water...what a great way to get rid of hazardous waste!
 
#15 ·
OakNut said:
You can't put tires in a landfill because it's "bad for the environment", but you can shred them and sprinkle them around your home. ???
Worst "recycling" idea ever.
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Right, that's why every kid that ever swung on a swing made from an old tire is dead now due to toxic tire poisoning.
 
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#18 ·
cwren2472 said:
Right, that's why every kid that ever swung on a swing made from an old tire is dead now due to toxic tire poisoning.
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I'm not the one saying it - and I don't give a crap about it's "toxicity".

I DO say that it's a terrible addition to the soil though because it's "trash" that doesn't break down like natural wood products.
 
#19 ·
OakNut said:
I'm not the one saying it - and I don't give a crap about it's "toxicity".

I DO say that it's a terrible addition to the soil though because it's "trash" that doesn't break down like natural wood products.
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That's correct, it doesn't break down. Why do I care? I want it to sit there, cover the ground, look nice, and block weeds. Who has ever looked at their flower beds in November and said "Yay! All my mulch broke down!"? As for being a terrible addition to the soil, do people usually buy wood mulch as a substitute for fertilizer or something?

And yes, it does blow around mulch easier than wood mulch. That's an annoyance but I live with it because unlike regular colored mulch, the color actually lasts past the first 2 weeks. We put red wood mulch down in one area in front of our garage a couple of weeks ago because I was too cheap to put the rubber stuff there (since it's roughly 3 times the price) - and it already looks crappy and faded a week later compared to our rubber mulch from last year, despite the wood mulch's "12 month color guarantee"
 
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