April 2020 and everybody was locked down. Well, supposed to be, anyway. I thanked my lucky stars I could get outside to carry on with the garden. Seedlings were up and growing. I had to get the garden ready to receive them, soon. Everything was ready, except for a layer of mulch. And I added a couple of “unofficial” extra spaces with my leftover ties and soil. What’s the old saying? “Easier to ask forgiveness than ask permission.” I knew the medium of those two beds was weak. I’d shoveled in the extra soild I had to the top of the garden ties, then mixed that in with the sand. But that gave me a mixture of 50% each. Diluted like this, such a mixture might not make for good growing. I knew that any garden area needs a layer of mulch. But with such a large percentage of sand, these two areas would drain and dry out very quickly. These two extra beds really needed some quality mulch if there was any hope of being successful. Where could I get free mulch near me?
I always collected free mulch. I’d normally pick up bags of leaves in the fall from the curb, as people brought them out for garbage collection. But it was April. I really hadn’t planned this back in October. No grass clippings either. Sure, it’s Vancouver, where the grass stays green all winter, but the landscape company hadn’t started mowing yet. So that left me thinking about where to get mulch—lots of it. Cheap would be good, but even better if it was free. Best if it was free organic mulch. Funny how things appear where you don’t expect them.
Boundary Bay
My wife and I enjoy walking. From our home in Surrey, we had easy access to some beautiful natural trails. For fantastic scenery, we’d go to the Boundary Bay Dyke Trail. We’d always see amazing things on this easy walk, including a beautiful view of Mt. Baker and Orca Island on any clear day. At low tide, the muddy beach featured herons stalking through tidal pools, huge logs washed ashore, and piles of seaweed.
Seaweed Mulch – Available Here
Vicki pointed at the seaweed one day, saying, “Can’t you use seaweed as mulch?” Why hadn’t I thought of that! Seaweed, chock full of basic nutrients and natural micronutrients, is supposed to be the best organic to add to soil. I’d purchased bags of it for years. When I moved to the coast, it never occurred to me to go out to collect my own. But here it was, on the beach. Better yet, it was free organic mulch.
But, what about salt content? Would ocean water in the seaweed affect the garden? I looked at the seaweed shoved by waves to the high tide mark and on top of logs. That stuff sat high and dry, light and fluffy. Any sea salt had probably been washed away long ago by rainwater.
Then there was the question of how to get it home. I’d need a lot! The answer appeared in the form of a path leading to a parking lot halfway through our walk. Park there, bring a wheelbarrow to the beach, fill some big garbage bags, and wheel them back to the car. So simple!
More than Enough
I borrowed a van and came back the next day at low tide, armed with a heavy rake, a pitchfork, bags, and a wheelbarrow. I got some curious looks, but most people walking by didn’t stop to ask what I what up to. To those who did, I offered “It’s mulch for my garden.” Everybody responded “Great idea!” I had 10 bulging bags stuffed in the van when I started for home.
With the 10 bags in the pit, I realized I had a bit more work to do first. Worried about the salt content, I spread the seaweed over the grass and generously sprayed the pile. It dried quickly.
I spread a thick layer of seaweed mulch on top, shielding the soil from the sun, and hopefully, blocking weeds as the season warmed. Then I laid my soaker hose face down on the garden bed. I needed to transplant the maturing seedlings, and end their occupation of the kitchen.
Sand, Soil, Seaweed
Finishing up, I mixed a generous layer of seaweed into the two “unofficial” beds. The mixture was mostly sand and about 25% fresh soil and 10% seaweed. This would be an interesting experiment. Would seaweed make any difference? One bed was going to be for my tomatoes—those seedlings were already started inside. The other bed was going to be for heavy feeders, potatoes and butternut squash. I had planned on planting both of these against the cement wall, but now I had extra space.
I rigged up another soaker hose on those beds. With the soil and water system in place, I was looking forward to getting stuff into the ground. There’d be lots of “by guess and by gosh” going forward. This was just the start!