I think I screwed up

[Shopdog]

OK, here's the thing. We have an area about 100 sq ft that my son's cedar playset sits in, right now there is just a layer of clean sand down. We have been planning on doing the tire mulch thing. But after pricing it we figured on the real thing. So, The other day our neighbors have this tree company taking down a healthy maple. So, I stop by and ask what they did with the mulch, just drop it off at the yard came the reply. Why, did you want it, OH WOW, FREE MULCH. How could I resist? Well, when I got home there was this pile of leaves/mulch and leaves LOTS OF LEAVES. Now I got a pile of leaves in my driveway.

Is this going to be a mistake? How long is it going to take for the leaves to decompose so its a decent mulch for the play area? Can I just throw it down now, just to get it out of my driveway?

Thanks

SD

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes

How long is it going to take for the leaves

Never, IMO

[Zephyr]

SD,

I did the same thing with my neighbors this spring, they had 3 large pine trees removed, seemed like such a good idea... well,

30 yards later, my driveway was full. fortunately I have a ditch on the side of my property that I was able to dump some of the stuff in. I did make good use of about half of the mulch though

if you shovel selectively you can probably find good pockets of chips to fill whatever planting beds / play areas you want however, you probably will have tones of sticks and leaves, those really won't be any good for anything ever. the leaves will rot and turn to dirt in a few years if you leave em, and the sticks will take longer.

unless you have a spot to dump on your lot, I'd look into finding a friend with a pickup truck.

Dave

[Meat Plow]

Mulch from a tree aint mulch until it's had a chance to cure. What you got isn't going to be usable for quite some time if at all. I have a shredder for branches up to 2" since I have a lot of trees that constantly drop branches, need trimmed etc. I would never think of using that stuff around the house.

[<kjpro]

The other fact is that his mulch isn&#39;t treated against bugs!

The only thing he&#39;s really done is invite bugs that could lead to major house damage!!!

[dpb]

As in already is? :)

Don&#39;t know what you have in mind as mulch for play, but leaves ain&#39;t gonna&#39; be suitable imo. When they do decompose they&#39;ll turn into mush and will be a wet mess/mass when wet before they do.

As someone else said, you&#39;re only hope would have been to have been able to have selectively had them blow the actual wood chips where you wanted w/o the smaller branches and leaves but maple wouldn&#39;t have been a very good choice even then as it doesn&#39;t have good weathering properties and will rot sooner to turn into more dirt than later...

I think you got stuck w/ getting rid of the neighbor&#39;s problem... :)

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[Meat Plow]

Yep it&#39;s like putting out a smorgasbord for termites.

[Shopdog]

OK OK < Anyone got a pickup truck I can borrow for about an hour?

OR......

anyone want some FREEE mulch!

Thanks for the help, guess I&#39;ll get what I pay for OR pay for what I get!

SD

[dpb]

Where are you? (I&#39;m safe, they&#39;re no trees around here) :)

:)

What kind of maple was it, do you know? If a soft/silver maple and you have a garden spot and a place to let it compost for a while, it will eventually break down and be of some use for additional humus if your soil needs it. Sugar maple ("hard" maple) is much more weather-resistant and would take quite a bit longer...

As an alternative to having to haul it off, perhaps, and depending on how much of it there actually is...

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[hallerb]

start a compost pile, what you have will be wonderful black rich topsoil probably within a year. i did that my yard looked wonderful the next year.

just pile it up add a few shovefulls of dirt as you make pile, surround with cheap wire fence if your concerned with it blowing around,

you can forgget about it but churning it gets it decomposed faster.

excelent topsoil, free and easy

[Shopdog]

I think we will pile it up and let it sit, we do have many palces that I could use the soil. I have a strawberry patch thats coming out, so I could just pile it there.

Thanks for the advice

SD

[GROVER]

The NG has addressed the wood mulch question adequately. I would also not use the mulch made from ground up tires either. I recently watched a group of children playing in the stuff and they left looking like they just finished their shift in a coal mine. Joe G

[Eigenvector]

Another possible is to shred it and use it as an outdoor catbox filler. My Doug Fir dumps branches and needles all the time, plus those damn tiny pine cones they produce - after I shred it with a chipper the cats love to use it instead of my herbal garden.

[Shopdog]

Sorry, But I do want to attract any cats to my yard. They are all feral around here and quite a nusciance. Plus my dog wouldn&#39;t allow it!

SD

[Shopdog]

I noticed that too, I think that after it has been exposed sufficiently to the weather the "paint" would eventually wear off. Our son is just as happy having the sand under his playground, we just wanted a better "match" to our landscape. That 100 sq ft with its white sand really stands out!

SD

[<kjpro]

You "do" or "don&#39;t"? :-)

[<kjpro]

If it&#39;s that big of deal, you can buy colored sand.

[dpb]

I think HE does but his dog won&#39;t let him... :)

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[dpb]

Not when it&#39;s new--that&#39;s a _bad_ idea. When it&#39;s new and decomposing it will be a nitrogen sink and add heat. Be good _AFTER_ it&#39;s composted, but not until (except only as walkway mud barrier between plants, perhaps).

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[Shopdog]

The area in question used to be an above ground pool (before we bought the house it collapsed) what was left was a nice round compacted sand area. instead of removing the sand we chose to put the playset there. We have been putting off sprucing it up, due to new baby, and many projects within the house. Now that we are finishing up in the house I figured to get the play area out of the way.

I DON"T WANT CATS!!

I will end up composting the chips and leaves in the area where we had a strawberry patch. It can just sit there til next spring, since I don&#39;t really feel like working that area yet.

SD