Free Mulch Near Me: 9 Ways To Get Mulch Without Spending Money

Do you need mulch for landscaping or gardening but are a little short on budget? If you do, you may wonder, “where can I find free mulch near me?” 

Maintaining a garden in a budget-friendly way may be difficult but not impossible, nor does it have to be limiting. There are various ways to maintain a beautiful garden while keeping costs low. 

You don’t need to hire a gardener or landscaper; just learn to do some processes, like mulching, which is essential to planting and beautifying your garden.

Mulch is commonly used in spring or during the growing season, and you may have seen it in abundance in nurseries. It is an additional layer of material covering the top of the soil in the garden, usually 2 to 4 inches in thickness. 

While it does not touch the plant stem or tree trunk, it is intended to cover the entire top part of the soil. Mulch is used for landscaping and flowerbeds and is a vital gardening practice. 

You don’t have to go far for a load of free mulch. This article offers helpful ways to arrange free mulch for your garden. Continue reading to learn more.

9 Best Ways to Get Free Mulch

The basic purpose of mulch is to enrich and protect the soil so that the plants have a better environment for growth. It prevents the soil from drying out by conserving water and enables the soil to retain its moisture. 

A bag of mulch typically costs around $2 to $5.50, and it can be more expensive depending on the size of your garden. However, you do not need to spend money on mulch as there are various ways to get free mulch and save money.

Here are 9 ways to get free mulch for your garden.

1. Check Online Listings 

Just like when you need any item, the first place you check is online listings on various sites; you can do the same for garden mulch. You may be surprised to hear that you can find wood chips, sawdust, grass or straw, and other mulch options on Craigslist for free. 

To find mulch, go to the Craigslist free section for your city and select the free category in the “for sale” section. You can search for mulch or type in specific words to find the type of mulch you are looking for.

Another convenient way to search for mulch is through sites like Facebook Marketplace. Since it allows you to buy and sell stuff in your neighborhood, you may find someone selling or giving away free mulch in your vicinity. Do have a look there before you move to other options.

2. Tree Care Services or Tree Surgeons

Tree care services usually have a lot of free mulch from wood chips they collect from cutting, chopping, or pruning trees. If you know of such services, you can request them for wood chips. 

Wood chips are great at controlling the ground temperature, fending weeds, and retaining soil moisture. They may also contain leaves and bark, making for good-quality mulch. So, you may ask tree care services to drop you a load, which they may otherwise dump in a landfill.

3. Get Free Mulch Delivered From ChipDrop

ChipDrop works with local tree care companies and coordinates with them for free wood chips. If you don’t have a pickup truck or a large vehicle, you can check out this service and put up a request for wood chips. 

The company lets tree care services in your area know that you require wood chips. In return, these companies can get your information from ChipDrop and deliver free wood chips to your doorstep. 

ChipDrop also maintains quality control, so you can be sure of the quality of the mulch you will receive.

4. Search on OfferUp

OfferUp is another great site like Craigslist that you can check out for the availability of free mulch. 

The site not only facilitates buying and selling various items but also maintains a section for free items. You can check out the free section to see if free mulch is available. 

5. Try to Freecycle

Freecycle is a great site that promotes recycling. People use the platform to give away stuff for free. 

You can use Freecycle to check if someone is offering free mulch in your area. Alternatively, you can search the site to check for materials that can be recycled to make your own mulch. 

We have discussed alternative mulch-making ideas in a later section.

6. Get Mulch From Landscaping Companies

If you see a landscaping company working at a site near you, ask them if they would be interested in giving you their landscaping debris once they are done with their lawn jobs. Often these companies collect quite a lot of debris or yard trimmings from trees and shrubs, depending on the extent of their work.

The landscaping debris usually comprises a variety of stuff, including grass clippings, fallen leaves, and branch trimmings that you can use for your garden as mulch. In some cases, you may be able to get mulch in bulk, which can even last you an entire season. 

7. Use Compost

Did you know you can use your compost as mulch? Many gardeners swear by the benefits of composting mulch. 

You can do backyard composting using yard and kitchen waste; just prepare a compost bin. Otherwise, check if there is a composting facility in your neighborhood. 

Compost offers the added benefit of providing nutrients to the soil. If it rains, the water will run through the compost to trickle down into the soil, along with carbon and nitrogen content from the compost. 

8. Use Alternative Materials

You can also devise alternatives for mulch through various materials. For instance, if you live near a stable area, you can request the stable owner for stable sweepings, which can be your free mulch. 

Here are a few more useful ideas:

• Save leaves or pine needles. If you have trees in your yard or neighborhood, you can easily collect yard waste, such as mown grass, fallen leaves, pine needles, pine bark, and the like. Instead of disposal, save, shred, and spread them across your garden. Leaves are great for retaining moisture, providing nourishment to plants, grass, and soil, and preventing weeds.

• Use old paper bags, newspapers, and cardboard boxes. Making mulch out of newspapers, worn-out paper bags, and cardboard boxes is a great way to recycle them. Use the black and white part of newspapers and shred them before using them as mulch. You can also use paper bags and cardboard boxes after shredding. 
• Use old grass. The next time you mow your lawn, save the grass for mulch. However, it is important not to use fresh grass.

9. Join AboutTrees.com

AboutTrees.com runs a free mulch program. The service also works via an app with residents and tree services on board. You can register on the site or app, enter your details, and through its free mulch program, you can request mulch from tree services working in your area or neighborhood. 

Once you have filled out the form and provided your requisite details, your mulch will be visible to the tree services operating in your neighborhood that use the app. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement through which the residents can get free mulch conveniently, and tree services are saved from the hassle of traveling long distances to dump the mulch in landfills. 

How to Get Free Mulch Near Me?

Without knowing it, you might reside in a state or city where a Free Mulch Program is already in place. Many towns and cities have followed this practice for quite some time, providing mulch to the residents for free.

You can also search if your city or country has such a program. Just add your city or country’s name and the free mulch program next to it to check if any local program is offering free mulch.

Here are a few examples of local mulch programs in the US:

• Fairfax County, Virginia – Public Works and Environmental Services free mulch program 
• Charles Country, Maryland – Environmental resources free mulch programs
• Los Angeles – Sanitation department free mulch
• Pinellas County, Florida – free mulch pickup program 

While in some places, the mulch is available in the pre-packed form in bags, in others, it is a self-service affair. The mulch is piled up in specific locations; you can take your containers and shovels to collect it.

How to Use Free Mulch?

Mulch can either be organic, like wood chips or bark, or inorganic, for instance, stones or plastic sheets. While the organic mulch decays into the soil, providing nutrients as it does, inorganic mulch does not decay. It’s now up to you what you think is the best mulch to use.

Mulch is strongly effective against weeds and helps prevent weeds from growing in your garden. If you have ever encountered a weed problem, you know the trouble of getting rid of it very well. 

In addition, mulch also helps control the soil temperature, keeping it cool in summer and warm through the spring, providing the plants with an ideal environment to flourish.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Free Mulch Near Me

How Do I Get Free Wood Mulch?

There are various ways to get free mulch. You can check online buying and selling sites like Craigslist, OfferUp, or Facebook Marketplace, or get it from your local tree care, landscaping services, or free mulch programs. 

You can also make your own mulch by composting or using old grass, leaves, newspapers, cardboard boxes, etc. 

What Is the Cheapest Mulch You Can Buy?

Dried leaves, grass clippings, or pine needles offer the cheapest form of mulch. 

What Can I Use Instead of Mulch?

Instead of mulch, you can use old cardboard boxes, newspapers, paper bags, leaves, grass clippings, compost, or stable sweepings.

Conclusion – Free Mulch Near Me

To keep your garden blooming and your cash stash untouched, it is really beneficial to get free mulch. You can get a good mulch supply without cost through the options listed above.

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