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Ppreparing plant beds

3K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  mattingly 
#1 ·
I was reading the post about mulching and what do you guys charge if a customer wants to clean out all the weeds and re-mulch the bed. Basically start from scratch. Some of you are charging 60.00 a yard, does this include weed control or would that be extra?
 
#2 ·
Mulching is a form of weed control: by adding 1 inch of mulch to beds each spring, you are smothering the weed seeds that blew in last fall. Most of our summer weeds are small seeds that need light as soon as they germinate: they don't have enough stored energy to grow up thru an inch of mulch to get to light.
Mulching will not control already growing weeds: they generally have stored energy to grow up thru mulch. Any existing weeds have to be killed or removed before mulching. If the beds have to be cleaned extensively, of course there would be extra charge for labor and chemicals. Mulching is a regular maintenance item: done annually or semi-annually the beds stay clean and attractive. If a client wants it done only every 2 or 3 years, the total cost will be the same or more, because of the time of weeding in the off years.

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Jim
South Bend, IN
 
#4 ·
Now would be a good time to get started, because you probably have the time. Roundup the areas first, on a relatively warm day - over 50 if possible. (I have successfully cleaned grass out of perennial beds here in No. IN by treating in Feb during a warmup into the hi 50's.) You can then mulch when you see yellowing on the existing weeds. You will have to be diligent in the spring in spraying any weeds that emerge, because you will not kill all the weeds growing on the site with a winter treatment.
Apply mulch to a total depth of 3 inches (including any existing mulch on site). If existing mulch is deeper than 3", remove down to 1.5" (extra work = extra charge), and add 1". Having mulch depth over 3" can be harmful to plants.

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Jim
South Bend, IN
 
#5 ·
I would also like to add that people who mulch real high up around their trees are encouraging two things.
1. Rot at the crown of the tree.
2. Vertical root growth

Once again I said encouraging. I know people who have done this and had no problems what so ever.

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Integrated Landscape Solutions
Lexington, KY
 
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