BNA Mulches Trees and You Can, Too

As part of our fall cleanup, the BNA started a tradition of mulching
our neighborhood trees for the winter. Trees, especially early in
development, need mulch to help retain moisture and protect roots
from freezing over the winter months. Portland Public Works provided
a truckload of mulch, a frontloader, wheelbarrows, and two tireless
and friendly workers to help our great crew of volunteers. In three
hours we were able to mulch over 60 trees on Oxford, Cedar, Chestnut,
Mechanic, and Stone Streets, as well as on part of Cumberland Avenue.

Some trees are in greater need than others, and we weren't able to
service every one of the 500 or more trees in Bayside. If you know a
tree in need, you can help out by mulching it yourself. It takes
about 5 minutes, and a $3 bag of mulch will cover 3-4 trees. If you
can't afford mulch, you can just mow or shred up the tree's own
leaves to make a useable mulch. Either way, here are a few tips on
how to mulch our trees:

First, pull up any weeds or foreign matter in the tree well, if
possible. You can till or "aerate" the soil around the tree, but be
careful not to damage the roots. Then pile up the mulch in a ring
around the trunk, about 3 or 4 inches thick, and 1 inch away from
the base of the tree. Be careful not to let the mulch pile up on the
bark at the base, since this can promote rot. That's it! Your trees
will thank you, and so will your neighbors.

-Robert Sylvain