Mulch

Question: Did shredded oak leaves make my lawn acidic? I use a mulching mower on leaves, but this year I had to apply lime on my lawn to raise pH because it had become so acidic. Can I only put oak leaves on acid-loving plants like azaleas? Aren't pine needles acidic, too? Answer: This is a persistent myth. Oak leaves — and pine needles — decompose to about neutral pH. They won't make your soil acidic. (Maryland soils tend toward an acid pH naturally.

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.

Mount Hebron High School and Patapsco Middle School are holding a mulch sale. Each 3-cubic-foot bag of shredded hardwood is $4.50 plus 6 percent sales tax. Orders are due Friday. Orders of 15 bags or more will be delivered free in the Mount Hebron High School sending district area between 8 a.m. and noon March 29. Orders of less than 15 bags can be picked up at Patapsco Middle School, 8885 Old Frederick Road, from 8 a.m. to noon March 29. Go to www.mulchsale.net to download order forms.

So stunning were the lush roses, the camellia and a single yellow-berried holly flanking the Guilford Tudor that Faye Coscia, a transplant from Dallas, bought the home late last year. Through the doldrums of winter, Coscia watched her beds of perennials, bushes and a vast vegetable garden lie dormant, all the while longing to muddy her hands in preparation for an abundant flowering come spring. "I actually bought the house for the garden," said Coscia, who was searching at a garden store yesterday for a sturdy pair of shears.

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.