Is the Sta-Green mulch from Lowes a low quality mulch? I got it for the first time because of the sale however I found pieces of plastic and pressed wood with the paint still on it. I usually get Mulch from Home Depot and although I have plastic in it once, never pressed wood from them and this is with using it for years.
by bluecrystalplanet
33 Comments
Many mulches from store bags are not straight forest byproducts but macerated pallets and trash wood.
This is pretty trashy even by companion though. Particleboard… yuck.
Its not that great, in my experience. The paint runs off eventually on that color, too. We re-did our front garden with the Scott’s one— great mulch.
I have never gotten a bag of woodchip mulch from lowes that does not have trash in it. I use it for compostable kitty litter (after picking out all the questionable bits), so I’ve tried a bunch of different options over a few years, and yeah. All the cheaper options and especially the perpetually on sale for $2 bags are full of garbage and dye.
At some point this year I’ll give up on chipdrop since there’s never been a drop within 100 miles of me, and I’ll just buy a load of woodchips delivered from the local landscaping/lumber yard.
Tbh, lowes store brand, HD store brand, Scott’s, etc… all kinda suck. Ive found everything from plastic to labels to wires in all of them.
The lowes brand generally seems to be better than home depots store brand though (at least in my experience). Scotts is a little better but still not amazing (and you get less since they’re smaller bag).
I too bought a bunch of mulch during the spring sales. Always trash mixed in. Pretty much getting what I expect for $2 a bag.
Seek out a local reputable nursery or farm, and get bagged or bulk mulch from them. You’ll be doing your garden a big favor
Find a municipal or commercial wood chip pile to source from for free
I always get no float cypress. Never had anything other than wood chips.
I got the Brown Sta-Green from Lowe’s and it looks great. Did 20 bags this week. I like black but it fads to brown and I personally don’t like red. But you do you. I had a good experience with the Brown mulch and the sale was a nice surprise.
The last time I bought store brand mulch around 1/10 of the weight was large (3″+ rocks) bits of plastic, some nails/screws, and painted wood.
It’s 5 for $10 you get what you pay for
For the price, that’s pretty much what I expect.
I was literally just looking at reviews for this mulch. People found all kinds of junk in their bags of mulch. Aluminum cans, basketball chunks, whole sticks, and more! 🙃
Everyone is hating on it, maybe it’s regional… I live in Los Angeles and bought a ton of the brown mulch last year of this brand. It still looks decent this year. I had red mulch from Scott’s before and it faded badly and ran within a year. The black held up better but still faded over time. The brown just looks like mulch, nothing fancy. Blends in fine.
Again maybe regional. We are pretty dry here so perhaps its multiple factors.
Probably will find nails and glass in there too be careful digging in it with your fingers
As someone who used to work in the garden center at Lowes, I 100% agree that their mulch is absolute garbage. I was always honest with the customers who had questions about it.
It’s cheap to buy for a reason.
Never have understood red mulch. Nothing about it looks natural.
Check out chipdrop(.)com. Free mulch delivered. I just discovered them and waiting for my drop
It’s more like a very low cost mulch. It will do the job, and that’s it. It may not be safe because of possible remaining paint or plastic, not suitable for all projects, especially with pets, animals and children around.
My favorite part is when mulch comes pre-infested with bugs, and/or sprouts weeds shortly after opening it!
Lowe’s mulch is bark and is terrible for plants and doesn’t break down since it’s meant to protect inner wood of tree in nature. Get real wood chips it will nourish your soil as it decomposes. Local nursery would be great or if you are willing to except a literal ton of wood chips. Try ChipDrop. It’s free and helps local arborists to not send to landfill where the materials are wasted.
You’re getting mulch with a load of dye in it and you are most worried about plastic? Don’t get sta green. Theres and call evergreen thats much better.
Check local landscape companies. I get mulch from one that uses vegetable dye for the colors. It does fade faster.
If there’s a yard scraps yard near you, they usually sell mulch from the stuff people drop off from their yards. Usually cheaper and better quality than what you’d find at Lowe’s or HD. My local one even bags some up for purchase.
Yep, that mulch is shit. Well known.
I once received a leather shoe in a bag of Lowe’s mulch. It looked like it was 100 years old.
i got some expert gardener from walmart last year and every bag had 2-5 logs in them like 3 foot long 3 to 4 inch logs. go to a local nursery and you can get really high quality mulch for way cheaper.
Colored mulch is usually chipped up pallets. Junk
OP if you’re wondering *how* to access what everyone in the thread is telling you “find a reputable local source for mulch” like oh gee thanks why didnt I think of that?
Start by calling your city’s tree trimming/street’s department. In my town at the back corner of a specific public park its just a free pile of miscellaneous chipped street trees. But the city only has but so many varieties of street trees yknow. Also very much alive mulch pile, has to be 90°f inside in winter.
If they contract this out to a private company well there you go, youve got a lead. Might be free-if-you-haul situation, they might sell it themselves, who knows! Maybe **they** know a guy. Good luck on better chips in the future!
Never ever use dyed mulch. Ever.
Is that a shark tooth fossil in your mulch?!
My gf got a bag of miracle grow potting soil and found a bit of plastic in it. Micro plastics are a essential to healthy plants
I found straight up glass in one of the bags I picked up.