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Uses for decayed mulch from tree #892759

Asked February 18, 2025, 11:06 AM EST

It's been about three years since I had a maple tree cut down. The crew chopped it up and I've been using it for mulch for my vegetable garden. Now most of it has decayed and it's gotten much finer. What can I use this for now?

Baltimore County Maryland

Expert Response

Hi, 

You can still use it as mulch in vegetable or landscape garden beds.  Mulch should be no more than 2-3 inches thick and tapered into the root zone of trees and shrubs so that it isn't up against the trunk of the plants. It will be good organic matter to add to the soil as it decays further. If you wanted more of a finished mulch look, you could always lightly top dress with your preferred mulch. 

You could use some of the decayed mulch in compost, but you wouldn't want to add all of it at once to a compost pile since it would probably throw off the balance of "greens to browns." For further information, reference our page on making your own compost at home

Let us know if you have any other questions. 

Emily

Even getting finer, this is a valuable organic soil amendment.
You can continue to use it as it breaks down- as mulch (might need to be a thicker layer to stop weed seeds from germinating), as an enriching soil amendment- mix it into your existing soil before planting, add it to a compost pile, to level lawn areas or fill holes etc.
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/organic-matter-and-soil-amendments/

Christine

So if I use it as mulch - some of it is so fine that it will get mixed in with the soil at some point. This is ok?

The Question Asker Replied February 18, 2025, 1:07 PM EST

So if I use it as mulch - some of it is so fine that it will get mixed in with the soil at some point. This is ok?

The Question Asker Replied February 18, 2025, 1:20 PM EST

Wow! This is good stuff. Every spring I top my garden with Leafgro. Could I use my finer tree material instead?

The Question Asker Replied February 18, 2025, 1:24 PM EST
You can absolutely mix it into your soil. Leaf-gro is a locally made commercial soil amendment, but made up of various organic materials that were composted together.

Christine

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