Soil Amendments

Sources of local soil amendments and mulch:

Desert Compost, 571-1575. Desert Compost is a subsidiary of the Groundskeeper Landscaping Company. They take “green waste” (plant prunings and cuttings) from the Tucson area and compost it with reclaimed water. I find the product works best as a mulch. It is a uniform product that should appeal to most folks aesthetics. You can pick it up yourself or have it delivered, but delivery is not cheap.

Manure/Compost U of A research farm, Ken Kriederman 405-1879. $5 per cubic yard of manure or $10 per cubic yard of compost. They will load your truck with a front loader. Call to find out if there is material and when you can pick it up.

Manure. Stables all around town are trying to get rid of their manure and would love for you to come by and pick it up – this means you can usually get it for FREE. Some may even deliver it to you. Get out the yellow pages and call around. It would be best if the manure were aged (fresh stuff can burn your plants), not sprayed (some folks spray manure piles with pesticides to keep down flies), and did not originate from a feed mix that included bermuda grass/seed.

The University of Arizona research farms just south of the Rillito River off Campbell Ave. is selling compost and manure. The nice thing is they will load your truck. Prices range from $5-$10 per cubic yard. Call Ken Kriederman at 405-1879 to find out when you can pick some up. The Tucson Organic Gardeners may also have some source tips at 670-9158.

Straw. Just check your local feed stores. Always ask for broken bales, or water damaged stuff as it will be cheaper or free - and works great as mulch. If you know of any straw bale building sites you can often ask for surplus broken bales. Halloween Night pumpkin stands will probably be looking to get rid of their decorative bales too.

Tree bark. Call up local firewood distributors as bark is often a waste product and can be obtained for free. I’ve had good luck with Nordstrom Firewood Company at 1107 E. 23rd. They just pile it up by the street and you can take all you want for free. \

Sources for unmilled lumber (for building watos, fences, etc.): A huge amount of lumber is mulched and taken to the dump every day as landscape crews, Parks and Recreation Departments, and tree companies cut down old or dying trees from our communities. Much of the larger trees could be cut into posts for watos (traditional ramadas), fences, or vigas in buildings thus utilizing local materials for building materials and cutting down on our waste stream. Agave, sotol, and yucca flower stalks could also be saved for fencing and latillas. Contact local tree service companies, your Parks and Recreation Department, Transportation Department, and Solid Waste Department to encourage them to stockpile larger, unmilled lumber for sale or redistribution. The following companies sometimes provide this service: Affordable Tree Service, Inc. 579-2193. Sometimes thier mesquite wood has been bladed from rural lands, so I don’t feel comfortable supporting that. Although they often have pecan wood gleaned from prunings of pecan orchards - this is truely turning a waste into a resource and is worth supporting.