MillionTreesNYC FREE Mulch (U Pick-Up)

stooplady

Greetings,

We're writing to MillionTreesNYC Stewards and residents in the Red Hook/Carroll Gardens/Gowanus/Park Slope area who have expressed interest in tree stewardship to let you know about a great opportunity to pick up FREE mulch for your new street trees this fall!

This Saturday, October 16th, MillionTreesNYC will be hosting a table at the Red Hook Added Value Community Farm's Harvest Festival near the Brooklyn waterfront from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The event will feature live music, a cider press, kids activities, and lots of games and giveaways. There will also be a farmer's market with fresh produce! Please BRING A STURDY BAG with you to receive free mulch (created from chipped trees which fell during last month's storm) for the trees in your community.

The Added Value Community Farm is located between Columbia, Sigourney, Otsego, and Halleck Streets in Red Hook, Brooklyn (right across the street from the Ikea store). For more information regarding this year's Harvest Festival, please visit Added Value's website: http://www.added-value.org/. And keep an eye on the MillionTreesNYC Community Calendar for more fall planting and stewardship opportunities: http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.5ceeec019daf48a37a9977e346a09da0 .

A few tips for good mulching:

· Mulching a tree helps to conserve soil moisture so that the need for watering is reduced. It also insulates the soil’s surface, helping to retain warmth during the winter months. Because mulch will not compete for water and nutrients as living vegetation does, the organic materials that compose it will prevent the growth of invasive weeds and grass in the tree pit.
· Refresh the mulch ring around the base of your trees. Apply mulch in a ring at least 6 inches from the base of the tree trunk (do not let the mulch touch the tree itself). Cover the soil outside of the ring out to the edge of the bed with 2-4 inches of mulch. Never pile mulch more than 4 inches high; go by what we like to call “the rule of the donut” when mulching trees. Remember: better a donut than a volcano!

Happy mulching!

Sincerely,
The MillionTreesNYC Team