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Where can I find large amounts of topsoil? The kind without the rocks in it? Not that I don't like rocks. It is just there is a place and time for rocks and my garden soil isn't it.

Also...

Bark mulch? Does it exist here? Pine needle mulch? Anything but red lava rock??? Naked dirt bothers me. 

And to not disappoint those who thought of a different way to dish dirt: who is the biggest gold digger in town? Who is the biggest playboy? Don't answer HERE but think about making sure to introduce the two you are thinking of to each other. There is someone for everybody :)

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Can't help you out on a dirt source, but as far as naked dirt, there are many nice groundcover plants you can buy that spread quickly. I am a great believer in mulch- rather than rake up all the dead leaves and plant cuttings, and burning them or putting out with the garbage as so many are wont to do, I spread and pile it around my plants. It retains moisture, meaning you don't have to water so often, keeps weeds from sprouting up, and breaks down and feeds and lightens the soil.

In my experience, it takes a LOT of training and insistence on this to get a Mexican gardener to comply- they love to rake it all bare.

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You should call and talk to Roberto of Chapala Tree Services. He has a monster chipper and does mulch. landline 762-0602 cell 331-411-0242. He has a business partner who is a landscape architect whose name is Luis. cell 331-241-9773 . They both speak English but Roberto is more fluent. Between the two of them, they will find you bulk topsoil and bulk mulch.

Edited to add: Hot composted horse manure link...

http://rdplakechapala.com/pasopoop.html

 

 

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1 hour ago, mudgirl said:

Can't help you out on a dirt source, but as far as naked dirt, there are many nice groundcover plants you can buy that spread quickly. I am a great believer in mulch- rather than rake up all the dead leaves and plant cuttings, and burning them or putting out with the garbage as so many are wont to do, I spread and pile it around my plants. It retains moisture, meaning you don't have to water so often, keeps weeds from sprouting up, and breaks down and feeds and lightens the soil.

In my experience, it takes a LOT of training and insistence on this to get a Mexican gardener to comply- they love to rake it all bare.

"they love to rake it all bare" ?? I have an ongoing battle against those awful, polluting, nasty, destructive, unhealthy Leaf Blowers they all use!!  Raking would be the next step, but leaving it all on my garden is what I keep asking for - maybe oneday?

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Just now, La-de-di said:

"they love to rake it all bare" ?? I have an ongoing battle against those awful, polluting, nasty, destructive, unhealthy Leaf Blowers they all use!!  Raking would be the next step, but leaving it all on my garden is what I keep asking for - maybe oneday?

Fortunately, no one uses leaf blowers in my area. Aside from the godawful noise, the concept of blowing the leaves off one's yard onto the neighbors' property or the street, where it just blows back again, has always eluded me.

Instead of asking your gardener to leave the leaves in the garden, try taking some time when he is not there to spread it around your plants as a mulch, and then point out to him that that's how you want it. I find Mex. workers respond much better to visuals rather than verbal instruction. Might take a few reminders. Sometimes I think they just assume that gringos have weird ideas, or don't understand how it should be done, and that can't possibly be what you want. And they tend to be stubborn in sticking to their old ways. A friend told his gardener that he would sadly have to look for another gardener if he wasn't willing to use the leaves as mulch instead of raking and burning. That worked.

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3 hours ago, Ferret said:

You should call and talk to Roberto of Chapala Tree Services. He has a monster chipper and does mulch. landline 762-0602 cell 331-411-0242. He has a business partner who is a landscape architect whose name is Luis. cell 331-241-9773 . They both speak English but Roberto is more fluent. Between the two of them, they will find you bulk topsoil and bulk mulch.

Edited to add: Hot composted horse manure link...

http://rdplakechapala.com/pasopoop.html

 

 

They have been working right across the street on three large trees. What a duh moment for me now as I didn’t think of it when I was watching them. 

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2 hours ago, La-de-di said:

"they love to rake it all bare" ?? I have an ongoing battle against those awful, polluting, nasty, destructive, unhealthy Leaf Blowers they all use!!  Raking would be the next step, but leaving it all on my garden is what I keep asking for - maybe oneday?

I really want a gardener who just snows and edges as I enjoy doing the rest of it but both I have had looked at me like I was from Mars and continued their whole routine. 

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It took a few seconds to translate snows into mows.  I buy my topsoil from Exotica nursery for 40 pesos a bag and he delivers.  I buy the redwood chip mulch from the garden store just east of the 7/11 in Riberas.  I have lots of beautiful ground cover in the green with small red flowers or the purple Wandering Jew that you are welcome to come and pick for free. 

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