Cottonseed hulls as mulch & new rose bed

15 years ago

We finally found a place for the new rose bed in the backyard. Here's the layout, showing how it looked after cutting an edge and removing the sod:

We decided to NOT use any type of stone or bordering material this time. Instead, we dug a trench around the entire bed & tilled up the soil. I was able to find the Cottonseed hulls at a local farm, and used 5 bags of them to cover the soil.

Here's a closeup of the texture of the hulls:

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Here's a closeup showing the difference between the dirt, and the dirt with the hull-mulch on top:

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So far they have been down about 3 weeks. NONE of it has blown away, and we've had some VERY high winds lately. (About 25mph sustained, gusts to 50mph.) I really think I'm going to love this stuff. It's fluffy, soft, stays in place, and won't stab you in the foot if it gets stuck in your shoe. It's easy enough to brush aside & dig holes, yet stays in place where you put it. Wowsers!

---Laura

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Comments (7)

Terry Crawford
15 years ago
That's some fancy digging there, Laura! I really like the shape of the bed. Keep that shovel sharp; I'm going to put in a dwarf conifer hillside next Spring. You are a woman of many talents LOL.

And I quite like the cottonseed hulls. Did you buy by the bag or truckload?
flaurabunda
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks! The shape of the bed was actually necessitated by the utility lines and tree roots around it. I'm planning on putting the climber Harlekin at the front & center of it. I know it's probably counterintuitive to put the tallest rose at the front of the bed, but I want to make sure it doesn't cast shadows on the other roses.

The easiest way to dig and get the sod out was a trench-digging shovel. It has a V-shaped point, and it's only about 4 inches wide. Made easy work of getting the sod off the top, and the trench around the edge.

I bought the first batch of hulls from Thornridge farms in Mechanincsburg. The farmer's wife works at my company & I found them via ADM's website, as a broker/dealer for hulls. They sell them by the bag. Their price is $11 per 45 lb bag. Three weeks later, Mike found them at a feed store in Litchfield for $9 per bag. He thinks that most feed stores should carry them; farmers use this as feed when fields go fallow around this time of year.
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hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
15 years ago
You did a really good job, and your dog is beautiful.
flaurabunda
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks! Here's another plus for the hulls over regular wood chips: the hulls do NOT get stuck in dog fur. Puppy has that dense chow undercoat & always gets wood chips stuck in her fur. It's been nearly a month & that bed has no fence around it. Seen all kinds of pawprints where she's been nosing around in it, but not one bit tracked into the house yet!
karenforroses
15 years ago
Great job! A beautiful garden bed. You have to be sure to send us pictures next summer when your new plantings are in bloom. We use cottonseed meal as one of the organic products in the rose fertilizer our rose society mixes. It provides good nitrogen and it helps to lower the soil's pH - something we need with our high pH limestone soil. Nice work, Laura!
jim1961 Central Pennsylvania Zone 6a
15 years ago
Great job flaurabunda! I like the shape of the bed also.
phebee
15 years ago
It is very good places to grow roses, and i think it will grow well.

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