Farda Landscaping & Excavating addresses the benefits of high-performance, natural mulch materials in Northeast Pennsylvania landscapes.
NEPA – Northeastern Pennsylvania is an area rich in scenic, natural beauty, inspiring regional homeowners to create landscapes for their outdoor spaces to complement those surroundings. With the month of April, nationally recognized “Earth Month” is upon us, and what better time is there to reconsider the materials used in your home’s landscaping to insure purity and environmental friendliness. In particular, it is important to consider your choice of mulch – one of the most commonly used landscaping products.
“The benefits of mulch are numerous to a home’s landscape and soil quality,” explains Anthony Farda, owner of Farda Landscaping & Excavating. “Mulch maintains the quality of soil overall and holds in moisture for plantings. It prevents weed growth and protects plant roots systems by controlling the soil temperature. It also protects lawn areas and trees from adjacent traffic thru-ways.”
Mulch comes in many forms, but can most easily be defined in terms of both organic and non-organic options. Non-organic options, while inexpensive, pose great threat to a home’s landscape and have the added potential of causing a greater impact to our ecosystem overall. A common type of non-organic mulch is reused construction waste. Many reused construction materials contain chemical treatments which are then inherently part of the subsequently produced mulch. Even mulches made from trees or plants from land clearing may not be beneficial as they could have infestations from insects or have been previously treated with insecticides.
“With this type of mulch there is no guarantee that the materials contained within it are naturally occurring or organic in nature,” expresses Farda. “It’s important to realize that any chemical treatment used on a material ground up for mulch inherently becomes a part of your landscape once the mulch is used.”
There are other considerations to take into account when choosing mulch material. Dark mulching materials, such as black mulch, cause soil temperature to rise to levels threatening to the success of vibrant plant growth. In the case of black mulch, a Penn State University study reported that up to a five degree temperature increase occurred in soil covered in black mulch material. Also, rubberized and plastic mulching materials pose a threat not only to soil quality and plant growing conditions, but also to the larger ecosystem as they do not decompose.
The ever popular colored mulch products are also products which should be reconsidered due to their environmental impact. “We never offer colored mulch as an option; we use it only if the customer insists,” says Farda. “We counsel our clients on the benefits of using a natural product instead of a dyed product made from mulched waste materials.”
Farda continues, “Another downside of dyed mulch is that it can be aesthetically displeasing by visually standing out from the landscape instead of seamlessly blending in to the natural surroundings.”
With the myriad of environmental impacts posed by mulch materials, the importance of using natural or organic mulch materials becomes clearer. “At Farda Landscaping & Excavating, we use shredded hardwood bark mulch which we keep in stock by the tractor trailer load,” conveys Farda.
Hardwood bulk mulch falls under the product classification of natural wood mulch. Natural wood mulches are produced from multiple tree types and only from virgin wood. Natural wood mulches are advantageous with benefits dependent upon the type of wood used in the mulch itself.
“The top benefits of shredded hardwood bulk mulch are weed control, moisture retention and visual appeal,” summarizes Farda. “The aged hardwood bark has a deep natural color, which perfectly mirrors and complements the natural landscape of our mountain region.”
For more information on Farda Landscaping & Excavating, the mulching products which they offer, or to view a portfolio of their work, please visit www.fardalandscaping.com.
Farda Landscaping & Excavating, a leading Pocono landscaper since 1977, provides professional landscaping and excavating contractor services throughout the Pocono region. Farda Landscaping & Excavating works with their client from beginning to end, from completing the initial site excavation to realizing the final landscape design and handling the most delicate of hand planting. For more information on Farda Landscaping & Excavating and their services, please visit the company website, www.fardalandscaping.com, or call 570-421-5376.
