# Cellulose insulation as mulch



## gmatov (May 9, 2007)

I don't know if you can use it as a seed cover on a new lawn.

It could be blown on rather than rent a Penn Mulch Spreader, which none of my local rental outlets can provide. 

I can't see my s'inlaw spreading 1500 pounds of those pellets by hand, and a regular seed or fertilizer spreader will not handle sush large pellets.

I can buy the stuff for about the same price as PennMulch. Can't get the spreader for it, COULD get the cellulose insulation blower free with a particular purchase size, 20 or 40 bags.

Trouble is, I don't know if the Boric Acid that is the fire retardent is going to make cellulose insulation detrimental to growing a lawn.

Is Boric Acid bad for grass germination, as in cellulose insulation?

Cheers,

George


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## Brik (Jan 16, 2007)

Weird.

What problem are you trying to solve? Take a picture of the lawn and post back.


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## elementx440 (Jan 24, 2007)

that will be quite a site to see... blowing insulation on the lawn


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## gmatov (May 9, 2007)

Point is moot now, as the s'inlaw bought the Penn Mulch, seeded the lawn and spread 35 bags of PM by hand, then rolled it down.

Problem is an all clay yard, cut out of the wooded acreage they bought that I think the old timer who used to own it, stripped the topsoil from to sell or use elsewhere. Actually clay and shale.

Covered with 100+ tons of screened topsoil and seeded. Seeded last year but with nothing to grow into, and 3 months of no rain, here, lawn greened up then burnt off.

Was considering blowing cellulose insulation over it, wet it down, would turn into a paper mache type of blanket, same as Hydro Seeding does.

My concern was the Boric Acid used to make it fire retardent. Would that be detrimental to growing grass? A Google led me to a patents site that has devised a termite treatment from boric acid treated mulches, and the notes say it is not harmful to plantings.

So, I guess it would have been safe and effective as a mulch. Better, I think, than the Penn Mulch that covers so little of the ground where it has been spread at the reccommended rate. Those little pellets swell to about pencil eraser diameter, and would have to swell to about C cell size to cover all the space between them.

Last year we used a hay blower to cover about 40,000 SF, near 100, mebbe more, forget, bales. Ground was just barely covered when we were finished, what with the way it pulverized the individual hay strands.

Anyhow, as I say, it is a moot point, now, but would still like someone to tell me Yes, it would work, would not hinder grass germinating, Or NO, be glad the boy jumped the gun and bought the Penn Mulch, as you would be reseeding after you limed the heck out of it to neutralize the Boric Acid.

ElementX,

If we had done it, it would have been no real difference from the mulch blower, just a different method. Instead of moving that humongous engine driven, trailer mounted shredder-blower, 2 truck lengths at a time, position the man carryable electric blower, with 200 feet of 2 inch hose. One man drops insulation into the hopper, the other directs the flow. You can see what you are covering as the material is a light to medium grey.

I have insulated hundreds of attics with these machines and this product. They'll spit out a 40 pound bale in under 2 minutes, cover 40 SF 4 inches thick, and if you want to put down 1/8 inch, should cover 1280 SF per bale. PM is 75 pounds per thou, and, as I say, very sparse coverage. 

Hell of it is, my kids want green for my G'son's B'day party 3 weeks from Saturday.

Here's hoping.

Thanks for your replies.

Cheers,

George


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Sure, Scott's patch master uses a cellulose looking material as it's mulch.


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## comeault (Jun 18, 2008)

so what is the answer can it be used as a mulch for your lawn? is the only difference the green dye?


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## Maintenance 6 (Feb 26, 2008)

The boric acid treatment in cellulose fiber insulation serves as a fire retardant, but it also prevents organisms from growing in it, such as bacterias and molds. Any time I've ever spilled some outside, it stays there for a long time without degrading. It just sort of mats down and stays there in a blob until I rake it up. I wouldn't try to use it for mulch if I wanted something to grow in it.


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## comeault (Jun 18, 2008)

*mulch*

thanks.


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