I was lucky to get heavyweight burlap sacks from Menards. Their statues came wrapped in them and they resold the sacks. The worms chewed thru the bags in no time. How about old carpeting or drapery?

I use flakes of straw or hay to cover my humps. I take care not to open or loosen the hay or straw when I open the bale. This works great for me. If the flakes are kept wet they stay in place and keep the hump dark and moist.

My family generates a 5 gallon bucket of Âstuff everyday and I make a new hump every morning. During the summer months a hump takes less then 2 weeks to compost. I make humps all year long, starting at one end of my garden and ending at the other, and then I start all over again.

I enjoy watching my humps compost almost as much as I enjoy watching my plants grow. (-:

Have you checked local fabric stores? This time of year they carry rolls of burlap for fall/Halloween decorations etc. As to the weight of the burlap - which ever you can find. The 10 oz. is just thicker and heavier and so will last longer. Any open weave cotton fabric will work - no synthetics.

Otherwise star, hay, even cardboard will work. Did you read the FAQ here on Interbay Mulch?

Dave

Dave- I did read the FAQs, thanks. My concerns are the visual effect of what I put on top to cover things up (I live in a neighborhood), and the possibility of the wind blowing away something light like grass clippings. I would like to just moisten it down, cover it up, then uncover it in the springtime to plant. Is this unrealistic?

I saw burlap at JoAnn's the other day. There was also a coupon for 1/2 off for a few days, starting today I think??

I just filled a new raised bed with a mix involving quite a bit of horse manure. To try to make it less offensive to my neighbors (that load was a little too fresh for neighborhood living), I covered it with straw, then stapled a piece of landscape fabric over the top (I had some left from a project a few years ago). Then I ran chicken wire (had a bunch of that laying around too) over the top of that to keep it from blowing away. Of course, in a couple days, the pile had shrunk down so my fabric & wire were loose, but it still looked "neater" that way, and my straw didn't blow away.

Of course, the landscape fabric won't decompose like the burlap, but in my case, it keeps it cleaner looking, and I already had it. I'm still new to the neighborhood, and so far my next door neighbors have been supportive of my gardening projects. I try to keep things looking neat. Now, when I do this to my front yard/lawn, I guess we'll find out about some of the other neighbors...

I've also bought it at JoAnn's fabric. They carry it on bolts and you can buy it by the yard. I had a 40% off coupon, I can't remember if you sign up for that in the store or online.

Home Depot also sells rolls of burlap, but it is a much more open weave.

I've also used old cotton bedsheets and mattress covers and both seemed to work well.

Good luck.

Karen

The primary reason that Jon Rowley and crew used burlap was because they could get it free from the coffee roasters in Seattle, any fabric will do the job.
Most every good nursery today carries rolls of burlap, however.

My concerns are the visual effect

Aye, and therein lies the difficulty. ;) Life in the country is so much easier.

Once, years back when IB mulching first caught on some even discussed dying/painting their burlap green. ;)

Personally I like the looks of straw (spelled star above by this DB) but I know it doesn't appeal to some.

Good luck. Oh and check out any farm or feed stores too besides the fabric store.

Dave

Rob, if your city has fall leaf pickup in brown paper recycling bags, you can grab a few leaf bags, dump the contents on top of your Interbay mulch, then cut or tear the bags lengthwise and spread them over the mulch. Be sure to weigh them down with stones or boards so the wind doesn't take them.

Several years ago I tried this method and it worked just fine, allowing plenty of air and moisture through into the mulch yet protecting it from birds and other large predators. Multiple feet of mulch applied in the fall became 8" of beautiful compost by springtime.

If your neighbours are inclined to frown at the rough look of composting projects, placing the printed side of the bags facing down looks a bit tidier. Suppose you could even mulch over them with wood chips, if that helps. :)

All the best,
-Patrick

Both Lowes and Home Depot sell rolls of brown paper to use as painting drop cloths. This is cheap and easy

Hmmn, does the brown paper work as a top cover? I picture it drying out & getting torn up - but I don't have any experience with it, so could be totally wrong.