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rubber mulch

nicolay

By Nicolay

United Kingdom

what are your views on rubber mulch




Answers

 

Do you mean rubber matting, or something else Nicolay.

8 Sep, 2008

 

No Guybinn, it is actually rubber chips presently being sold by Homebase. Nicolay.

8 Sep, 2008

 

I wouldn't do it, personally. I mulch with organic material for several reasons and one of them is that the worms gradually drag it down into the soil and take nutrients with them! If you wanted a decorative topping, I can think of several better-looking ideas, can't you? I suppose it's a way of getting rid of tyres or something, is it? They would never rot down and when you wanted to plant something, they'd be a nightmare in the soil. Wouldn't the garden smell of old rubber, too? UGH.

9 Sep, 2008

 

Rubber mulch ? Never heard of such a thing.Might be useful for spring bulbs or to rejuvenate a tyred garden.

9 Sep, 2008

 

I've seen it being used on some garden programme ages ago. Did look quite well, but like spritz said if you ever wont to take it up i imagine it being hard work.

9 Sep, 2008

 

But I guess the rain would bounce off?

9 Sep, 2008

 

i supose it might be ok if you are growing rubber plants ?????

9 Sep, 2008

 

That has to be the most ridiculous garden product I have ever heard of.

9 Sep, 2008

 

Think you might have started something Nicolay after Bluespruces comment.The most ridiculous garden product
- further suggestions?

That garden claw thing that you twist through soil. Brilliant if you have sandy soil .

9 Sep, 2008

 

Yep, the garden claw would make the top five, just three to go ??

9 Sep, 2008

 

rubber mulch made out of old tyres? you would imagine it would be wheelie good,,,,,, ok ok i can hear the groans from here lol

9 Sep, 2008

 

It sounds cool, and at least they found a use for old tyes without the need to burn them and pollute the atmosphere. Give it a go, make sure you put down a membrane first as you don't want it to mix in with your soil, the worms wouldn't appreciate it. I'd imagine it would be cool to walk on and would add interest to your garden on a different level, you know what actually, because of that sensation you get when you walk on it, it would be great for a sensory garden, thank's for giving me a great idea.

Thank you.

9 Sep, 2008

 

I remember seeing this a while back on TV, i thought it Looked Great...
http://www.rubbermulch.com/ Have a peep.

9 Sep, 2008

 

i have a few spare tyres from my tyre circle
but how would i chop them up to make a mulch lol

9 Sep, 2008

 

A membrane with rubber mulch ! I would guess at the very least you will end up with sour soil, no good for worms or plants.

9 Sep, 2008

 

LOL. I've got some spare tyres, too, Sandra, but I couldn't chop them up without great pain.... hehehe.

10 Sep, 2008

 

Think I ll pass on that one Spritz but ok to laugh?
A membrane and tyres why stop there ? - just concrete the lot.

10 Sep, 2008

 

now come on people, they'd hardly be selling rubber mulch has a garden product, has a garden mulch if it contaminated your soil, doesn't really add up does it???

It's a relatively light material, I wouldn't imagine it would compact you soil any more then when you use a stone mulch, which can be planted in very succesfully with sustained sucesss.

Put the mulch in your garden, take pictures and show everybody how good it looks. Then if you really want to, in six months time check out the soil and I'm pretty sure you'll find the worms won't be that bothered, if anything they'll be probably grateful that they have a safe haven from birds gobbling them up.

Take it easy,

Scott.

10 Sep, 2008

 

oh while I'm here I just checked out that web-site www.rubbermulch.com, the one that "youngdaisydee" recommended above, I think all the nah sayers should check it out, it's pretty impressive.

10 Sep, 2008

 

If you want to believe any old advertising hype from a company trying to sell their product, of course that's up to you......I dont!

10 Sep, 2008

 

eeeeenteresting! How the opinions are divided.
It sounds to me to be ideal if you are after "low maintenance" gardening.
Nuff said?

10 Sep, 2008

 

Forgive me Weeding but having moved into to a house where the previous owner threw all his old tyres round the garden guess I got an aversion to seeing them strewn acoss beds and borders.I dont believe that the chemicals and toxins constituted in tyres should be burnt.

Likewise I wouldnt want them leeching into my soil for centuries to come.

10 Sep, 2008

 

What evidence is there to constitute that the material that is rubber is going to be leeched into your soil, rubber is impermeable, therefore it will contain all its components, in fact it would take 100's of years before the rubber even started to break down into the soils structure, and even when this break down occurs it would happen at such a slow rate that the earth would be more then capable of processing it.

Everytime something new comes about in this world the same thing always happens the majority of people run to the hills in panic and the minority acknowledge it and take it for what it is.

I have to say one thing I can't believe how caught up everyone got including myself on this subject, you'd swear you were destroying the earth with your rubber mulch. This is most definitly the last post I will make on this question.

From all the opinions you recieved I'll leave you by saying good luck with your cool, soil destroying, intersting, effective, silly garden mulch, I think I included everybodies opinion in that last statement. Oh sorry I forgot bouncy and ridiculous, so from all those opinions I think the answers pretty clear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

11 Sep, 2008

 

omg, i bet poor nicolay is probably sorry he asked now

11 Sep, 2008

 

Ssdcreations - Get over yourself...everyone is entiltled to their opinion, I for one am not interested in putting anything onto or into my soil that is not organic, if someone else wants to that's their prerogative, we were asked our views on the subject and we gave them, you should respect that.

11 Sep, 2008

 

Well any one interested in what tyres shredded and otherwise can leach into soil may be interested to read what New Zealands Ministry of the Enviroment found and concluded after prolonged tests.

www.mfe.govt.nz/pulbications/waste/end of life tyre management

Organic it aint! cadmium lead anthimony ...

11 Sep, 2008

 

Ridiculous? Far from it. Certainly not as ridiculous as dismissing it when completely ignorant of it.

Found this site because I'm researching the product - I saw it a the Grand Designs show a few weeks ago.

1) It doesn't smell of, or look like, old tyres.

2) The product I saw was finely granulated, i.e. not made to look like bark, and it was a black or very dark brown colour, not dyed a fetching kid's playground hue, and it looked nice.

What appeals to me is the (claimed) fact that cats hate digging in it. It wasn't cheap though, so I thought I'd see what I could find out about it before investing my hard-earned.

True it wouldn't condition the soil like bark or cocoa shells would, but where I want to use it I've got a membrane under the mulch layer anyway...

26 May, 2009

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