How To Source Free Mulch

SavATree and Alpine Tree Service are two local companies that will deliver free mulch, and there's often a waitlist. However, if you repeatedly check in with the friendly office staff and establish a relationship, you'll have higher success of getting a load of mulch. Often mulch suppliers will deliver 7-10 yards, and you are required to take the entire load. Mulch often includes twigs that you'll filter out and discard as you spread mulch (typically 1 yard that you can dispose of in your yard waste bin over a few weeks). Mulch comes with yummy leaves that fill in voids to suppress weed and that decompose over time for added nutrients. 

However, I've found that the fastest means of getting a load of mulch in the summer is to continuously cruise downtown Fruita during business hours to spot bucket trucks. Listen for the sound of saws! Additionally, use social media to ask your neighbors if they'll be trimming or removing any of their trees. For very smaller loads, the former is ideal.

Here are some things to consider before you order a load:

• Identify how much mulch you need—10 yards is a lot. Use a mulch calculator so you know how much you'll have remaining, if any. Assume 3" of mulch depth. Consider who you will share the remainder with if you have leftover mulch. A truck bed can haul off about 2 yards.

• Identify a storage location—Identify where you're gonna store 10 yards of mulch. Mark the spot with sidewalk chalk so that the drivers know where to unload. If you don't have room or don't need 10 yards, identify a neighbor that is also landscaping and needs mulch.

• Tarp the mulch—As it takes weeks to spread 10 yards of mulch (I've done it in under 3 days), protect the mulch from wind using a hay bale tarp, which you can buy at Tractor Supply, as your neighbors won't like it if mulch is blowing about the cul-de-sac. One added bonus is that a mulch pile covered with a tarp heats up to high temperatures, killing aphids and pathogens in its path. In fact, be careful when you reach your hand into the steaming pile of mulch because it can burn a bit or surely startle you. I have not tested a tarped pile's temperature, but 140 degree Fahrenheit is very likely.