Cocoa Bean Mulch

Has anyone used cocoa bean mulch? I bought 38 bags of it yesterday, and from what I read on Google it seems to be good for the soil. Any experiences?

mix some coffe grounds with it and your garden will smell like heaven!

My one-time experience with cocoa bean mulch was that initially it looked good and smelled great, but quickly became prone to mold. It also seemed to decompose more rapidly than fir bark mulch (which can be good or bad, depending on what you're looking for in a mulch).

But hey, you've got 38 bags of it; spread it around and revel in the aroma.

The cocoa mulch smells nice, but can be toxic to dogs if they eat it. Keep an eye on your canine companions if you use it.

Wow! I used it in one of my beds, very easy to spread and you're right, it smells soo good. I will watchout for my dog, read about that on Google too. Think I'll make some hot chocolate now.
Thanks for the input
Jacquie

I have used it regularly. Be sure to wet it immediately after spreading it. It is light and will blow away easily. It smells great and decomposes easily. As stated above it is prone to fungal growth and I have read about it being toxic to dogs. It has a nice color to it. Did you get a good buy on it?

I think I'll just cover the bags with a tarp and use it all next spring. I've read that it only lasts a couple of years so I'll wait-- it would just be covered with snow most of the winter anyway. I have so much mulch on my beds now that I'm really looking forward to working this soil next spring. I turned my raised veggie beds and covered them with horse and rabbit manure, then topped it off with about 4" of straw. The worms will be in Heaven this year. To answer your question about the cost of cocoa mulch ----- I couldn't believe the buy we got on this stuff. Lowe's sold it for about 8.40 for the 2 cubic feet bags and closed it out for 1.39 a bag. Unbelievable!! We have the smallest Lowe's they built, but they have the greatest buys on stuff when they have close out sales.

I've been looking for this mulch, but cant seem to find it. Where did you get it from. Does it cost a lot?

All of the big nurseries here carry it, it comes from Pennsylvania, I bought it at Lowe's. It is usually expensive, but look for a close-out this time of the year. I

We've used it for years and really like it.

It does sometimes get moldy when its new but all you have to do is rake the mold in lightly and it goes away.

Our dog never paid any attention to it as did the neighbors dogs.

Its a little bit pricy here in Michigan about $6-7 a 40 lb bag but its well worth it.

Your beds will smell like a candy bar for the first few days.

Paul

paulgrow, what a great price!! It's $8 plus here for 2 cubic feet. I would never have bought the amount I did if I had to pay full price for it. I guess location is everything because of shippping rates.

Check out this link:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp

The toxicity seems to depend on the animal and the way the hulls are processed.

I've seen it used in display beds and it is beautiful, their resident cats & dogs didn't pay any attention to it at all.

Our cats never showed an interest in chocolate. It was different with the dogs, and may be more breed specific. Our large dogs (golden retriever, doberman, husky/malamute) never showed an interest in chocolate. My mom's west highland terrier could hear a chocolate wrapper from a deep sleep at the far end of the house. The moment anyone handled anything with chocolate, that terrier would be right at your feet. How she could distinguish chocolate packaging from other similar items has always been a mystery to us.

Well, I must be part Westie. I can hear a chocolate being wrapped from 1/2 mile away.

LOL, granny! LOL!