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I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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Posted by babywatson 7 (My Page) on Sun, Apr 16, 06 at 18:45
| ...but the frustrating part is that the county, which offers to load pickup trucks for a nominal fee full of the stuff, won't sell it to me since I don't own a darned pickup truck!
I asked if I could bring black plastic garbage bags and load it--still pay them--and they said no, they don't sell it like that.
Does anyone know anyplace in the Manassas area that WILL sell cheap loads to non-pickup owners?
Mary |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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- Posted by lightt 6/7 Northern VA (My Page) on
Mon, Apr 17, 06 at 14:32
| The I-66 transfer station on West Ox Road (between Lee Highway and Route 66) allows you to cart away mulch in any device you can come up with and you don't have to pay for it. Terry Light
Oak Hill, Virginia |
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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Here is a link that might be useful: Fairfax County Mulch
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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| What mom and I used to do...back when I was a city girl.. was to watch for people to put out bags of leaves when they started their spring yard clean up...I still get the urge...We know people thought we were crazy, but we'd stop and toss the bags in the back of our cars and make off like a bandit with the goods...If you see a little red pick up in you area doing this, it is probably my brother. If you don't have a place for a compost pile you can leave the leaves in the bags, especially black bags. Add a little water and a handful of 10-10-10 and set them in the sun. They will break down to compost in a jiffy...Of course you can mulch with leaves just as they are, or if you have a way to grind them, they will stay put even better... We ground ours by running a pile of them with an old lawnmower and blew it against a fence... "O" |
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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| I've picked it up at the Yates Ford Road spot. They just drop a few truckloads there a few times a year and no one is there to care how you get it out. Not far from Manassas. |
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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| On the Fairfax County link above, there is a column for "Mulch Hauling Companies". Early last year (I think it was last year...my mind is slipping) I had Miller & Sons deliver a big ole truck full (around 15 yards) for $85 to my home in Sterling (Loudoun County). I think the price may have gone up a little since then. I would do it again, but that is a LOT of mulch to try and use up on a 1/4 acre plot. Just last month I forked out $120 to get 4 yards delivered and you can often find me driving around in my Matrix with four 25 gallon totes filled with mulch from the Baron Cameron location (an upgrade from the Corsica that could only hold 3 bins, two of them in the backseat) - Brent |
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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| Another idea is just to throw yourself in front of any passing tree service truck that wanders down your road and plead for whatever is in the truck. I've gotten several piles of woodchips as big as a Honda Odyssey that way. Of course, the chips aren't colored and they come mixed with leaves, occasional bits of trash and stuff. Still a pretty good deal (free) and it all rots anyway! |
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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- Posted by suja z7 noVA (My Page) on
Sat, Apr 22, 06 at 13:55
| Following up on the tree service angle, call up a bunch and get yourself on their list. There are several in the area that will dump large amounts of shredded wood for free whenever they are working in your neck of the woods. Works out well for everyone, because they would otherwise have to pay money to dispose of the load. Suja |
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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| Does your county or municipality offer free leaf mulch in the spring? Falls Church does, but that may be for residents only. Otherwise, I second the recommendation for the Fairfax transfer station on West Ox. I paid a hauler $75 for a half-truckload a year or two ago. Unfortunately, I couldn't use anywhere near that amount right away, so I left the rest sit where it was dumped. Last weekend I finally dug into it, and it had turned into the blackest, richest compost I've ever seen. It /almost/ looked like Midwestern black topsoil. Ah, the memories... |
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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| We own a tree service and we are always willing to GIVE away the chips to anyone within the area that we are working. Call some and let them know you need them. They should be happy to give you some! |
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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| I have composted horse manure out here in Western Loudoun, if you're interested. Free! I use pelleted bedding so there is minimal wood, and we turn regularly. I still have a good amount of aged compost left -- my usual takers didn't use it all up... |
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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| Oh Janetvdv - where in Western Loudoun? I have a garden in Middleburg in need of organic matter... |
RE: I Need Compost & Mulch Cheap!
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Janetvdv
If you want to sell or get rid of your composted manure please let me know.
It is getting very hard to get and soil here in haymarket is very poor. |
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