Mulch made from recycled tires

[auntkeds]

A neighbor of mine just told me her landscaper is talking about using a type of mulch that never decays away and lasts a lifetime. Made of recycled tire chips, called RubberStuff® Mulch. Here is a url to read it yourselves. http://www.americanrubber.com/mulch/

I guess this ranks up there with using 'dead' peat moss and such products that don't do anything to build the health of soil, etc.

Just thought y'all might find this interesting.

C. Kohls

[Kathe Kitchens]

This stuff has been around for years. I researched it as a material to use in school playground areas as it is fairly good at impact protection, such as when they fall from swings, slides, etc. It wouldn't appeal to me to use it as a regular planting bed mulch but I guess it could be done.

It's a good way to recycle old tires, so it has merit in that. It's also fairly attractive. It also seems to remain separated enough so that water can flow through it and oxygen can get down to the soil, but then with nothing growing there it's not such an issue except for drainage. It also seems to stand up to foot traffic well.

Drawbacks are that it doesn't biodegrade so you don't get the benefit of added organic material. It also would likely have to be raked off to add amendments - compost, cornmeal, etc. effectively, and then put back. Also would wonder about how well fertilizer would get down through it for plants.

There's my 2 cents!
Kathe :D

[Tree Dude]

Rubber meets the road, or rather,the lawn.

I don't like subsitutes of mulches as in plastic and rubber. I think they look dumb and trashy.When I want mulch, I get mulch.

Maybe ok on playground area(is rubber mulch soft?), but not in my yard.

[mwoolf]

I have used rubber mulch before and did like the way it looked. What I didnt like was it did not keep out growth from grass, weed, etc. I ended up changing back to the natural stuff.