Bulk Mulch
Bulk Mulch makes up the majority of our business. We make Beans Blend right here on the farm and the other products we have trucked in from specialty suppliers. Our most frequent question from customers is "what is the difference between them?"
Bean's Blend is a double processed hardwood. That is kind of a generic name for ground up logs. There are many ways to do this so when comparing between competing brands you have to actually look at the product and see for yourself if the particle size, initial color, long-term color, fines content, and overall composition matches your requirement and budget. Our "double" may equal others' "triple" and we pay a lot of attention to what goes into, or what stays out of our mulch. We make a huge pile over the winter and early spring so it can age and develop a natural brown color. This aging process adds to the long-term color and increases as the season progresses. It also helps cook out bugs and weed seeds. The pile gets quite hot! April mulch can fade more quickly than June mulch. This product has a high wood content and the actual wood is the first to fade, although we often blend in some dark product reserved from last season to lessen this effect.
Bark Mulch is sourced from southern paper mills and is barged up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, processed, and trucked to us on a daily basis in the spring. These have a lower wood content and tend to have a more true auburn or brown color, there is some wood but a much smaller percentage. Keep in mind that these are natural products. Everything fades in the sun and rain, but turning your mulch with a rake will allow better moisture movement and bring back some beautiful dark color
Color enhanced mulch comes from a variety of sources, we choose a natural wood product over recycled pallets. Although the dye works great with the white pallet wood there is just too much foreign material to deal with. We prefer a more natural approach.
The second most frequent question we hear is "how much do I need"? check out our Mulch Calculator!
We make deliveries 6 days a week and would be delighted to help with your project. Feel free to stop by the farm and take a closer look, bring home a sample if you want! You may also place your order, pay and schedule all right here on our website.
Feb 2023 Update: Barge rates and fuel prices continue to add to the cost of the products we truck in from Illinois River depots, While we do want to continue to offer this high quality product, we had to change pricing accordingly. We have added another local option - BB Fines that may be a better fit for your (like mine) already stressed home budget.
Thanks for looking!
