In Search of

 . . .  mulch. I spent two days driving around town looking for bark mulch to cover the bare dirt / compost in the new garden. Bags of shredded chips are everywhere at nurseries all the time, it's a staple inventory item and they stock different kinds and sizes -- cedar, pine, large, small, fine, coarse.

I bought the last ten bags of small size bark mulch that my usual nursery had -- they told me they could not get more until trucking supply lines cleared up, and had no expected delivery date.

So I spread what I was able to get -- it's about 3/4 of a yard of mulch. But it is spread thinly, barely covering the compost and not covering whole sections at all. And I needed more for the other gardens that got expanded or torn up when the irrigation lines went in. 

But there was no more to be had. I went to two other nurseries who were both out. Both said they had re-supply orders that were hung up for lack of trucking and did not expect more mulch for months.

Yikes. Mulch is a constant, reliable supply item in nurseries. There is no shortage of it ever. But the trucks can't get it to the stores.

A cover blanket is always appreciated by plants as they go into winter and need some protection from scouring winter winds. In Santa Fe it is particularly necessary -- winter sunshine is intense enough to quickly dry out the top layers of soil that then blow away. You need to cover it.

I'm worried that the layer of shredded bark I was able to put down in the new garden is too thin and the mulch itself may blow away. But it's something.

Gravel is an option. It's what the front yard and portions of my back gardens are covered with. It's what was in the area to begin with where the new garden was just created. But I had the landscaper take the pea gravel up and haul it away. I was looking for a softer, more "garden" look rather than plant installations in gray gravel.

Who knew the mulch I would need would be stuck on a truck?

🚚     🚛     🚚     🚛     🚚     🚛    🚚     🚛    🚚