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Look for this logo to ensure you are getting mulch that is safe from chemicals or toxic substances
What’s in your mulch? Consumers concerned about what might be in their mulch, especially when it comes to hazardous materials such as the chemicals used for treating wood, now have a valuable resource.
More and more people are making an effort to be more environmentally friendly, from the cars we buy to the food we eat. But have you ever thought about mulch? That’s right, mulch.
Did you ever think about that organic garden of yours just might be topped off with a nice thick layer of arsenic or chromated copper arsenate (CCA for short) or any one of many not-so-organic chemicals. The potential health risks are sobering and beyond the scope of this mention.
However, now you have a friend in the mulch and soil industry. In 2004 The Mulch & Soil industry adopted standards prohibiting the use of CCA-treated wood in all consumer mulch and soil products. The Mulch & Soil Council also developed a Product Certification program to help consumers identify mulches and soils that comply with industry standards and contain no CCA-treated wood.
MSC supports and encourages wood recycling as an environmentally friendly practice when it is done correctly. However, removal of all CCA-treated wood and other potential contaminants must be a required part of responsible wood recycling.
Certified mulches and soils can be found at major retailers and garden centers across the country. They are identified by the MSC Certification Logo on the package and are listed on the MSC Web site. More about mulch.
About Joe Lamp'l
Joe Lamp'l is the Host and Executive Producer of the award winning PBS television series Growing A Greener World. Off camera, Joe dedicates his time to promoting sustainability through his popular books, blog, podcast series, and nationally syndicated newspaper columns. Follow Joe on Twitter
Thoughts on cedar mulch for raised vegetable beds? Is it effective for repelling insects? Can it negatively impact the soil or plants directly?
Scott, Here is a link with more information about wood chip mulch. I think it would be fine to use on top of the soil for your garden but not around young seedlings. https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/aleopathic-wood-chips.pdf
I hope this helps. Erica Glasener
It would be helpful if you could name some dependably good bark mulches that are safe. What do you use to mulch your plants Joe?
Sharon, Here is what Joe recommends for mulch. His rule of thumb is no dyed mulch. You can’t always know if it includes ground up pallets and other scrap wood. He also doesn’t like un-natural wood in his landscape. He recommends ground hardwood mulch for landscape beds and pathways and pinebark mulch or finely ground mulch for beds where you want an acidic base, for blueberries, azaleas, rhododendrons and other acid loving plants.
For raised beds, all of these products work well but he likes finely ground products and mostly prefers straw because it’s easy to work with and remove at the end of the season. I hope this helps. Happy gardening!
MY HOA has hired someone to mulch. It is made with cow manure. It smells terrible. I have asked for a MSDS and got no reply. Is there a test I can do at my house to see what is in it.
Deborah,
It is hard to determine what is in the mulch. I suggest contacting your local cooperative extension service (through the University system in your state) for their recommendation. They have soil test kits and they will give you more information than a DIY kit you purchase from a local garden center. They will give you information about fertility, pH and nutrient levels. The good news is that the smell should dissipate fairly quickly if the mulch is in the hot baking sun. To be on the safe side, I would not use their mulch on your vegetable garden. Happy gardening!
Unfortunately we moved into a neighborhood that borders a tree service that has a huge pile of mulch less than 20 yds away from our house. We are from Montana and have never had allergies. Come to find out that our neighborhood has been complaining about this tree service for years and the owner seems to have a lot of politicians in his pocket and currently running for Mayor. He has paid people in the past to keep their mouth shut but I cannot be bought. I have been dry hacking constantly and can’t sleep along with my husband. He went to the doctor yesterday and was told it is due to allergies but never mentioned the mulching behind us. They also die mulch back there and it stinks to high heaven. One of our puppies has developed allergies also. This tree service sets in the middle of a residential area. Can this cause us to get sick? Is there any advice of getting this business out of the neighborhood? It constantly looks like we have black dust over everything including the inside of our houses, pools and cars!
Hi Adrienne. I’m sorry you are having to deal with this. It is beyond the scope of my expertise but I’m hoping someone reading this might be able to help. But the political side of this bugs me. Seems like this is another case of money, politics and power working against the greater good. I hope you find a solution to this problem! Please keep us posted.
Hey Joe & Phil,
Used Wood Ecology Premium Mocha Brown Mulch in the garden. Noticed afterword that fine print said to not use in vegetable gardens or playgrounds, etc. We moved there vegetables and planted flowers by this mulch. How bad is it? Is it toxic? In either case, after this season growing season, if we scrape off as much of this mulch as possible, will the soil be safe for vegetables next spring?
Also, can you recommend a lab/source for soil testing? We moved the vegetables under the deck, but years ago I dumped weed killer under there to try to cull the jungle … which did not work. Want to make sure it’s safe before the kids eat the vegetables.
Thanks!
Hmmm. I looked this up and this is what is says for this product: “Wood Ecology Premium mulch is made from freshly ground wood and is colored and bagged in a controlled indoor environment. We add twice as much colorant to this premium mulch compared to standard mulch to give it a vibrant color that lasts the entire season!”
First of all, what the heck is “freshly ground wood”??? I gotta say I’ve never heard that one before. My concern is the reason a lot of wood is artificially colored to begin with. It’s masking the fact that this wood was former pallets and wood that had a former life. Personally that scares me. Combine that with the fact that this mulch has “twice as much colorant” is not something that excites me.
Fortunately, my prior research on mulch colorant tells me a food grade dye is commonly used. HOWEVER, I’m not familiar with this product and that warming is there for a reason.
I strongly suggest you contact the manufacturer or check the MSDS info to find out what the heck is in this stuff and how to safely remediate the toxicity if necessary. It depends on what’s in it to know if and when it will break down. If it’s heavy metals, it won’t break down. But you’ll need to find out and then go from there. Wish I had better news but let’s hope for the best.
Hi. I did some research on this mulch. It is manufactured by BASF. I too was looking to purchase this at a local store called Menards. here is the website for the mulch, but if you scroll down it shows the SDS sheet. It’s PDF download but it shows all the info on the mulch.
https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/landscaping-materials/ground-cover-materials/wood-ecologys-reg-premium-ruby-red-mulch-2-0-cu-ft/1803034/p-1444447328974-c-5784.htm?tid=9076518183074923448&ipos=2
My roommate has covered. Her garden area with used carpet padding. Then she covered that with a plastic tarp. She said it was ok for me to use the space for a veggie garden. I am very very concerned about any bad health effects possible with using this area now. What is your opinion ? Is the carpet padding a safe mulch for a vegetable garden?
Jeanne, I have not really investigated this option for mulching a food garden so I can’t say at this point. While plastic is a common method of mulching in commercial farming, I would think if you’re not working the plastic or carpet padding into the soil, hopefully the components remain in the material and don’t leach into the soil. If you’re serious about this, I would do a soil test that can detect contaminants. A standard soil test does not do this so you’ll need to consult with your extension service to see what test would be required to detect any potential problems.
Is it safe to use red mulch for fruit trees? I’m concerned something will leach into the ground and harm the food we’re consuming.
The colored mulch is a food safe dye, so that’s not the problem. However, colored mulch is often used as a way to disguise ground up shipping pallets. Those potentially can contain pesticides. But I don’t know how or if you would ever know if that’s the case. I only use natural, non-color treated mulch for my garden applications, partially for this reason.
I’ve come into contact with fresh mulch only twice in my life. Once last year in May and once today. Both times, I’ve broken out into hives and cannot stop itching. I try my best to stay vigilant about fresh mulch but my mother and I have no idea what I’m allergic to. I can play with barkdust and mulch after it rains, but if it is completely fresh, I’ll get hives and my eyes will water and I can’t breathe.
I’ve tried looking up ingredients to wood mulch, but I can’t find any information. Can you help me please?
our school has put a dark brown mulch on the playground that smells really bad. Is this good for the children?
I can’t determine if this is a health problem from here. But be aware, mulch def. has a unique smell, especially right after it’s applied. Some might interpret this to be a “really bad” smell. So it could just be that. But if you have concerns, I would contact the local health department as a first call. I can’t imagine though what would cause the mulch to smell bad through the natural process of preparing it.
is it safe to use fresh pine mulch from a tree that was sprayed last year for needle cast, on existing raspberry patch. i’m assuming it was a fungicide treatment. and is it safe for landscaping, or chicken bedding.
In my opinion, wood mulches (especially bark) don’t make much sense in a garden, certainly not from a garden health perspective, but keeping CCA out of these mulches is still a great step.
It’s better to know before adding mulch that it’s safe. The best way I know for that is through the Mulch and Soil Council. They have a certification program that randomly tests its members products that consumers purchase by the bag at nurseries and garden centers in the U.S. If the product is certified, you will know that by the certification seal on the product.
After it’s added, it’s a lot more involved and expensive. But you could have it tested by sending the mulch to a private lab (and some university labs do this too). Inquire online to see available sources and what is necessary to process your sample.