Mulch

Two Baltimore Department of Public Works employees stood ready in Cherry Hill yesterday morning to turn Christmas trees into wood chips. But perhaps it was too soon for Baltimoreans to take down decorations. Only five cars arrived with trees in the morning. Employees appeared a bit disappointed, shuffling around the machines but perking up whenever a car drove near. "People will just throw them in the alleys," Quentin McCready said. The Christmas tree program works like this: City machines chew up the Christmas trees, and residents can take the resulting mulch.

Jimmy Turner needed a little direction, but he easily managed a garden hose and watered newly planted flowers at the Havre de Grace Community Center. "I have watered flowers before," said the 37-year-old Bel Air resident, who is one of 32 community partners at The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region, an organization for people with developmental disabilities. "I know how much to give them." Turner and 11 other Arc volunteers spruced up the center's gardens Thursday as part of their community service project.

Q. I've seen some small brown animals scurrying through my mulched beds and am concerned about the damage they may pose to my perennials and shrubs. Will they feed on the roots or the bark? What can I do about them?A. Meadow mice and voles do feed on above- and below-ground plant parts. Mulch provides a habitat for them, so you need to remove it from your beds or move it at least 2 to 3 feet from vulnerable plants to discourage feeding. Set mouse traps baited with apple slices if you notice plant damage.

IT HAPPENS every spring. I get the urge to mulch. I am overcome with an emphatic desire to buy sacks of mulch, then race home and empty them on my trees and plants.I have to confine myself to buying bags -- holding a mere 2 cubic feet of mulch -- because I have a small yard. But I fantasize about buying in bulk. I dream of owning impressive of mounds of mulch.The other morning, for instance, while waiting for a stoplight to change at Charles Street and Northern Parkway, I suffered an attack of mulch lust.

A discarded cigarette butt was blamed for starting a mulch fire that heavily damaged a Westminster seafood restaurant during Sunday's dinner hour, authorities said.The Long John Silver Seafood Restaurant in the 100 block of Mall Ring Road sustained an estimated $50,000 in damage, authorities said. An undetermined number of diners and three employees detected a burning odor and left the building at 6: 22 p.m.Smoldering mulch near the front door ignited a fire in the restaurant's exterior wall and spread to the roof, state fire marshals said.

Water shortages are an important social and ecological issue, and gardeners are on its cutting edge: No matter where the water goes, we are often its most visible consumers.Three of the last five years have produced record-breaking droughts in our area. This year seems destined to join that number, with the familiar pattern of little or insufficient rainfall between mid-April and early September, except for the odd shower or thunderstorm.While we may lament the lack of rain, our predisposition is essentially to do nothing and wait for a return to "normal."

FiresSykesville: Firefighters responded at 3: 38 p.m. Friday to a mulch fire in the 1200 block of Lancaster Drive. Units were out 25 minutes.Sykesville: Firefighters from Sykesville and Gamber responded at 1: 48 p.m. Friday to an auto fire at Patapsco State Park. Units were out 80 minutes.

Two mountainous mulch piles caught fire yesterday at a North Carroll sawmill and burned for more than two hours before volunteer firefighters from four counties in two states could contain the blaze, authorities said.The smoky, smoldering fire was discovered about noon at J. C. Wilhelm Inc., a milling, mulch and sawdust operation in the 3700 block of Maple Grove Road southeast of Manchester, fire officials said.Fanned by moderate but constant breezes, the fire leaped from one pile to the other, said Donny Nott, deputy chief of Manchester Fire Engine & Hook and Ladder Company No. 1. He estimated the piles were 300 feet long and 100 feet high.

MULCH IS THE parsley garnish on the blue-plate special of suburban life. Mulch used to be the finishing touch on the razor-cut flower beds of the rich. But now everybody mulches.Mulch is one of those miserable tasks that homeowners dread beginning because, once you start mulching, you can't quit until the last crumbs of that dump-truck load in your driveway can be swept into a dust pan. You aren't finished mulching until that last bag of mulch, gleaming with dew, is emptied."I mulch so I don't have to weed," says my sister, Cynthia, who just finished spreading three cubic yards of mulch and hasn't been able to stand up straight since.

SOME items from the mailbag:Here's something else you can blame on El Nino: Termites loved the mild winter. But there is some good news: A new product developed by the Environmental Laboratories Co., in North East, Cecil County, can improve the appearance of your home and fight termite infestations.It's called Term-A-Rid 613, and it's a decorative mulch that contains a naturally occurring element that interferes with termites' digestion, killing them. The mulch is completely degradable and nonthreatening to the environment.

We at the Janet's World headquarters in Maryland are conducting an experiment with mulch. I'm sure I don't have to convince you to read on, after this compelling topic sentence. Who doesn't love a good essay about mulch? The only thing better would be a scratch-and-sniff essay about mulch. Let's first explore the purpose of mulch. Shredded hardwood mulch is supposed to protect plants and keep weeds down, while giving your flower beds that je ne sais quoi, which is French for "the exact same appearance as all the other suburban yards in your subdivision, and subdivisions across the continental United States."

I was harvesting - I'm not sure if that's the right word - compost from my compost bin and thinking about the miracle of making dirt. All that disgusting kitchen garbage, my husband's bounteous grass clippings, the dead flowers and the fall leaves - it all becomes dirt in a transformation that never ceases to amaze me. I am holding in my hands a moist, dark substance that is writhing with life - earthworms by the hundreds - and flecked with the white...

Two Baltimore Department of Public Works employees stood ready in Cherry Hill yesterday morning to turn Christmas trees into wood chips. But perhaps it was too soon for Baltimoreans to take down decorations. Only five cars arrived with trees in the morning. Employees appeared a bit disappointed, shuffling around the machines but perking up whenever a car drove near. "People will just throw them in the alleys," Quentin McCready said. The Christmas tree program works like this: City machines chew up the Christmas trees, and residents can take the resulting mulch.

'Merry Mulch' program recycles Christmas trees Howard County government is offering a variety of Christmas tree recycling options through its "Merry Mulch" program. The county recycles about 18,000 trees a year. All trees are delivered to the Alpha Ridge Landfill where they are transformed into compost and mulch. From Jan. 2 through Jan. 21, trees may be recycled seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Alpha Ridge, and 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at these drop-off sites: Kendall Hardware, 12260 Rt. 108, and River Hill Garden Center, 12165 Rt. 108, both in Clarksville; Cedar Lane Park, 5081 Cedar Lane, and Grandfather's Garden Center, 5320 Phelps Luck Drive, both in Columbia; Rockburn Park, 5400 Landing Road, Elkridge; Small Circuit Court parking lot on Courthouse Drive, Ellicott City; Schooley Mill Park, 12975 Hall Shop Road, Highland; Savage Park, 8400 Fair Street, Savage; and Western Regional Park, 14800 Carrs Mill Road, Woodbine.

Weeds took over our flower beds last year. A friend said that we should pull what we can, put down four to five layers of newspapers (overlapping edges), and then cover them with mulch. Is this a procedure you would recommend? My husband and I are looking for the easiest way. The newspaper-plus-mulch method is excellent. It's actually much more effective than mulch alone, because the newspapers don't allow any light to reach the weeds or weed seeds. It's a good low-maintenance method, plus it puts recycled paper to good use. Avoid slick ad pages, and lay your mulch no more than 2 to 3 inches deep.

Liam Thomas, 2, watched in awe as his beloved Christmas tree was loaded into a gigantic yellow wood chipper yesterday and came spurting out in tiny chunks. "I like the machine," said Liam, who was sitting atop his father's left hip. The smell of fresh pine cut through the brisk morning air. Although his father, David Thomas, admits that Liam is too young to understand the importance of recycling, he hopes that bringing his son to the city's annual mulch day at Polytechnic Institute will make a lasting impression.

Around the house Check, clean and vacuum dust from your dryer vent, air-conditioner, stove hood, room fans, baseboard heaters and cold-air returns. Keep your heating and cooling vents free from furniture and draperies. Check your crawlspace or basement for standing water, mold - and wildlife. Check pilot lights and burners, too, and look for gas leaks and adequate ventilation. Clean your gutters and downspouts, and make sure they're securely attached. Your roof should be watertight, too. Look for missing, cracked or loose shingles; gaps in the flashing where the roofing and siding meet; and damaged mortar around the chimney.

Jimmy Turner needed a little direction, but he easily managed a garden hose and watered newly planted flowers at the Havre de Grace Community Center. "I have watered flowers before," said the 37-year-old Bel Air resident, who is one of 32 community partners at The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region, an organization for people with developmental disabilities. "I know how much to give them." Turner and 11 other Arc volunteers spruced up the center's gardens Thursday as part of their community service project.

Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) What could be better than an ornamental shrub that provides delicious health-packed berries? Six to 8 foot blueberry bushes can be woven among rhododendrons or used as a hedge. Shiny leaves sport small white flowers that lead to bright-blue berry clusters. The multicolored fall foliage is outstanding. Even red winter twigs provide interest. Blueberries do demand a low 4.5 to 5.0 pH soil. When planting, incorporate compost or peat moss into the planting hole.

I TOOK A WEEK'S VACATION. TO MULCH. Not to travel, not to read a book, not to get my nails done or clean out a closet. I took a week's vacation to mulch, because I knew it would take me at least that long to move the shaggy pile of brown stuff -- about the size of a Mini Cooper -- from the driveway to my flower beds. I had offers of help. But I consider mulching something you have to do yourself. Only the gardener knows for certain where the perennials lie dormant in the cold earth.