Overheard a neighbor say he spends $600 a year on mulch and I almost choked on my coffee

I was out back last weekend re-staining my fence when my new neighbor Bob walks over. He was complaining about how much mulch he buys every spring for his flower beds. He said he drops about $600 a year on the bagged stuff from Home Depot. That got me thinking about how my dad used to just shred his own leaves and use that as mulch for free back in the 90s. Sure it broke down faster but it worked fine and saved a ton of money. Has anyone else switched to leaf mulch or wood chips from a tree service to cut costs?

2 comments

2 Comments

adamgreen2d ago

I gotta say, I don't see the problem. If Bob has the money and he likes the look of the bagged stuff, let him spend it. My wife tried the free wood chips once and we ended up with termites in the garage door frame. Sometimes paying a little more saves you a bigger headache down the road.

the_charlie2d ago

Yeah, I get that. Not all free stuff is worth the hassle. Free wood chips from the town dump gave my neighbor a lovely infestation of carpenter ants that took two years and a lot of money to fix. Sometimes paying a bit more for the bagged stuff is just buying peace of mind and a warranty against bugs eating your house. It's not like Bob is buying a yacht, it's mulch. Let the man enjoy his clean, uniform, termite-free landscaping.