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| Last year, I discovered this product "Cocoa mulch". The mulch had a pleasant dry brown color and smelled like chocolate pop-tarts. My wife loves it, so I spread it in a small area (away from the neighbor's dog) as an experiment.
Initially, the mulch worked pretty well. We were warned that squirrels may go crazy over it, but they totally ignored it. Then it started raining, and the mulch became mushy like wet leaves. Next strange yellow bugs never seem before started appearing and hanging around the mulch in a small swarm, they look sort of like like bright yellow mosquitoes. Finally, it started getting moldy, turning white and yucky. At this point, I scraped it off and tossed it. May be it's good to use in dryer areas that doesn't get much rain fall? Paul |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by darth_weeder z7 NY (My Page) on Fri, May 27, 11 at 18:16
| sorry you had a bad experience but I would have just covered it over with a different mulch because IALBTC |
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Fri, May 27, 11 at 19:46
| The white mold is just part of the normal decomposition process -- raking usually disturbs it and makes it less visible, but it is harmless. Cocoa bean hulls are supposed to be more moisture retentive than other mulches, so perhaps that why it appeared 'soggy'. Don't know what the flying insects were - it is not known to attract any particular insects and repels quite a few. But various insects will lay their eggs in any sort of moist organic matter. But it is rather expensive and is toxic to dogs and cats, so there are better things out there to use :-) ps. squirrels are not attracted to cocoa mulch but they ADORE hazelnut shells. Very entertaining to watch them hunt through the shells for any remaining nut pieces, stuffing their cheeks as they go. |
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- Posted by joepyeweed 5b IL (My Page) on Fri, May 27, 11 at 22:03
| It has been a wet spring, I imagine most mulches are sogging out right now. The oaks have been flowering excessively adn I've been using the flowers for mulch. They don't spread very well, especially when wet, but IALBTC. |
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| Cocoas bean hulls come from the manufacture of chocolate, a by product that chocolate manufactures have discovered can be sold to people as mulch for a profit so they no longer need to pay dumping fees. Much of the chocolate comes from farms the hire, for little money, children to harvest the pods, child labor. So buying cocoa bean hulls for mulch supports the exploitation of children. Do you really need to spend your money on a product that uses child labor? |
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- Posted by piedmontnc 7b-8 (My Page) on Sat, May 28, 11 at 9:26
| But chocolate is so delicious! |
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- Posted by darth_weeder z7 NY (My Page) on Sat, May 28, 11 at 12:37
| I wonder if there are children in parts of the world picking coffee beans? How can we be sure that our morning joe wasn't picked by tiny little fingers? So it is my goal that we should all ban the use of coffee grounds so we don't support the exploitation of children. Next on the list is that we should all become nudists so we can send a message to the clothing industry, notorious for child and other labor abuses. Then we should unplug and dispose of our computers because it may not be well known but when we "recycle" them they are generally shipped off to China where they are disassembled by children who end up being poisoned by whatever is in these machines. So just replying here in my Kirkland jeans, drinking coffee and typing away I'm supporting child abuse. So farewell, I'm off to live with the Amish.... |
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- Posted by newbiehavinfun 7a - Southern NJ (My Page) on Sat, May 28, 11 at 21:12
| Q: What does IALBTC mean? |
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| It All Leads Back To Compost. |
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