<p>You can get an excellent mulch fee at your local Starbucks. They give away the coffee grounds. I don’t know if there are local Starbucks in PA though (now that I think about it). </p>
<p>Willows root incredibly easily. Takes about 3-4 weeks. After they root, save the water and use it to root other things; it has a rooting hormone in it that willows produce.</p>
<p>Momsdream- My garden-loving friends and I periodically get together for lunch or margaritas to swap divisions and cuttings. One friend usually has tons of leftover compost to share with the group, too. It really helps in keeping the costs down. Some municipalities also give away free mulch via their landfills or parks departments. I once got a batch that was weed-infested, so I won’t risk it anymore, but others that I know have had good experiences doing this.</p>
<p>momsdream, mulching is what you need to do. If you don’t have money, shredded newspaper is the best(a bit yakky to look at). I did this years ago because I too was tired of weeding. If you cover the weed from the sun, the weed has no sunshine and it will not be able to germinate and therefore it can not grow.
Try composting ground coffee, it’s free(ask the neighborhood Starbuck) and you will have tons of black gold for you garden.</p>
<p>dmd77-there is a Starbuks 5 mins from my home. I’ve never thought to ask them for grounds. I’ve also never thought to use my own grounds. Thanks for the tip. </p>
<p>I’m not sure what’s going on with the Willow because it’s leaves are looking a little “yellow”…as opposed to the bright green. Maybe it’s going to die before it roots. I assume I shouldn’t be changing the water…I haven’t changed it once. </p>
<p>Kissy, I would love to swap cuttings with friends. Our nearby townships give away mulch. They have huge piles of it in the parking lots of the local parks, but I live in the city…and I don’t think we have such a program. A friend has given me mulch from those mulch piles before and, as you said, it was weed infested. It’s also a huge pain to haul home…at least to have enough for the beds. I would need about 8 trashcans full. </p>
<p>SusieQ, how do you compost ground coffee? Do you mix it with dirt and let it sit for a while?</p>
<p>I just mix the coffee grounds into the soil at the top. </p>
<p>Another way to get divisions of plants is to walk around your neighborhood and see who’s got plants that could use dividing. Then ask them if you can do the dividing and take some. I got a lot of plants that way when my kids were younger.</p>
<p>momsdream, isn’t your S the one looking for chores? Pass this one on!</p>
<p>SBmom- YES! H is looking for chores. Do you mean to pass along having him walk the neighborhood looking for plants to divide? HA…I can see the headline now. "A 6’4 “ethnic looking” teen with droopy pants and earrings (bling) in both ears is walking the neighborhood and creeping up on people’s lawns. And, when asked what he’s doing he responds “I’m looking for plants to divide for my mom”. J/K Actually, he would probably be good at getting people to agree. However, his idea of “dividing” might be to just rip the plant in half…and I don’t know how to do it any better. :)</p>
<p>Make sure the mulch isn’t too fresh or it will kill your plants. After the trees are mulched you need to let it sit for at least 3 months. </p>
<p>I run the lawn mower over piles of leaves in the fall (or spring if we didn’t rake earlier), then use the chopped up leaves for mulch. It’s free and works well. Justt don’t put the leaves on too thick. I also use the grass clippings as mulch in the summer. I just empty the bag right on the garden as I mow.</p>
<p>" I also use the grass clippings as mulch in the summer. I just empty the bag right on the garden as I mow."</p>
<p>My first thought was “hmmm, won’t that create grass?” LOL After some thought, I realize it won’t. Seems like a good idea over30!</p>
<p>momsdream, there is a percentage of green and brown stuff that you must mix but I ignore all this because my compost bin is downwind from me so my neighbor gets all the pleasant smell(lol). I usually compost with leftover kitchen vegetables+eggs shell+ground coffee+anything I pull up from the garden(included dirt in the root)+ shredded newspaper+red worm. My husband never let me put in grass clipplings, he 's afraid there will be more grass to cut. The worms seem to eat through it and I don’t have to turn the compost pile, just leave them for while and the combination turns into very good dirt.</p>
<p>SusieQ - Do you have a compost bin that you bought just for that purpose or do you use something recycled…like a trash can.</p>
<p>momsdream, I’ve got the compost bin very cheaply thru the city re-cycle program for $20(the type that sells at Hawk/Perk(sp?somehow I can’t remember the time for the moment) for $99. But you can use an old trash can as long as there are holes to aerate them. Compost bin needs air. My husband used his drill to drill hole for me. </p>
<p>Here are the links on how to build them cheaply.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.backyardgardener.com/compost/[/url]”>http://www.backyardgardener.com/compost/</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.mastercomposter.com/equip/buildbin.html[/url]”>http://www.mastercomposter.com/equip/buildbin.html</a></p>
<p>here is the link for the red worm</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormcomp61.html[/url]”>http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormcomp61.html</a></p>
<p>We now use mint compost. Buy it by the unit (7 cubit yards)=$180; $80 bucks for the hauling fee. </p>
<p>We used to use spendt mushroom compost. Stuff still smells of horses**t, even after sterilizing, composting and mushroom growing. We tried hemlock fir bark which was very cheap, but it was too fine, decomposed too quickly, and tiny slivers in skin. Cedar bark works but stingy and expensive. Douglas fir bark is too coarse and chunky. Neighbor uses dairy, separated-compost, but it’s still too hot for home use. </p>
<p>Keep brushing your teeth the pearlies. You gotta move to the country.</p>