BARK MULCH IN ALDERGROVE, BC

Bark Mulch Installation in Aldergrove, BC

Beds mulched across Aldergrove, from the streets off Fraser Highway out to the acreages on the roads between. Most of the questions we get here are really one question: is this the stuff that goes on top, or the stuff you dig in? They are not the same, and you usually want both.

Licensed and insured

BCLNA certified

We measure the beds first

Delivered and spread, not tipped

Bark Mulch Goes On Top. Compost Goes In.

This is the thing most worth knowing before you order anything, and it is the question we get asked most often out here. People use mulch, compost and topsoil as though they were three names for the same load of brown material. They are three products, and only one of them belongs on the surface.

Mulch is a layer on the surface

That is what the word means: a layer of material put on top of the soil. It shades the ground, holds moisture in, evens out the soil temperature and keeps most weed seed from getting going. It does all of that by covering, which is why it stays on top.

Compost is the part you dig in

Compost is a soil conditioner, and it is worked into the ground rather than laid over it. If your beds feel thin and tired, that is a compost job, and mulch goes over the top once it is done. Two products, two jobs, usually the same visit.

They are not interchangeable

Bark spread thick where the soil needed opening up leaves you with a tidy bed and the same tired ground underneath. Compost spread on top and left there grows weeds, because it is a seed bed. Getting the order right matters more than the quantity of either.

Which one you actually need is a question about your beds, not about the price list. We look at what is already there before quoting, and if the honest answer is that the beds want compost worked in first, we will say so rather than sell you a deeper layer of bark.

The grades of bark themselves, what each one looks like and which suits which bed, are all set out on the main bark mulch page rather than repeated here.

A Free Load of Chip Is Not Bark Mulch

Out on the larger lots there is usually a tree crew working somewhere nearby, and chip is often free for the asking. It is worth understanding what you are being offered, because it is genuinely useful material and it is genuinely not the same product.

Bark and wood get separated when logs are peeled, and the two are handled apart because their chemistry differs. Bark mulch is the peeled outer layer, screened to a grade. Chip is the wood itself, run through a chipper, whatever came off the tree that day, at whatever size the machine produced, including leaf and green material.

So: chip is good on a woodland path, on a rough area under mature trees, or anywhere you want ground covered and do not mind how it looks. It is a poor choice for a front bed, because it does not sit evenly, it does not hold a clean edge, and you have no idea what species or what else came through the chipper with it. Bark on the front beds and chip out the back is a sensible way to spend nothing on the parts nobody looks at.

If you already have a pile of chip on site, tell us when you ask for a price. We will happily move and spread what you have where it belongs, and quote bark only for the beds that want it.

What a Mulch Job Here Includes

A look at the beds before a price, not after
Edges cut back so the new material has something to sit in
Beds weeded and cleared before anything goes down
Bark spread evenly and worked in around planting by hand
Compost worked in first where the beds actually want it
Paths, drives and lawn swept and left clean
Everything we take off site leaves with us

What goes elsewhere. We do not build retaining walls or lay paving, and planting design is not something we take on. Weed killer is not used at all, so what comes out of a bed comes out by hand before the mulch goes on.

We are not testing your soil or telling you what is wrong with it in a laboratory sense. What we can do is look at a bed and tell you whether it wants covering or improving, which is a judgement about what we can see rather than a diagnosis.

How the price is put together, and whether you want us to drop material and leave you to it, are both covered on the bark mulch overview.

Bark Mulch Across Aldergrove

The residential streets either side of Fraser Highway and the town centre, the properties running south toward 0 Avenue, the acreages on the roads around 264th, and out past Aldergrove Lake. Bigger lots mean longer beds, so the quantity is worth getting right before anything is ordered.

One local note. Not every Aldergrove address is in the same municipality, and the eastern end sits in Abbotsford. It makes no difference to a bed of mulch, but if you ever need to ask anyone anything official it decides who you ask. There is more on that on our Aldergrove hedge trimming page.

Bark mulch in neighbouring places is on the Abbotsford, Langley and Surrey pages, and our areas served page covers the whole service area.

Aldergrove Bark Mulch Questions

Is bark mulch the same as the chip a tree crew drops off?

No. They come off the log at different stages and are sold as different products, because the chemistry is not the same. Bark mulch is the screened outer layer. Chip is the wood itself, with whatever else went through the machine that day. Chip is fine on a path or a rough area under trees, and a poor choice for a front bed.

Should I be using compost instead of mulch?

Probably as well as, not instead of. Compost is a soil conditioner and it gets worked into the ground. Mulch is a layer that sits on top. If the beds are tired, the compost goes in first and the bark goes over it.

Can I put compost on top and leave it?

You can, and you will get weeds. Compost on the surface is a seed bed, which is the opposite of what you wanted. If it is going down as a cover, use bark.

How much will I need?

That depends on the area and how the beds are shaped, and we measure rather than guess. Our bark mulch overview walks you through the sums if you would rather have a figure in mind before you call.

Can you just drop it and leave me to spread it?

Yes, plenty of people do. The overview covers what changes about the price. Tell us which way you want it when you ask and we will quote it that way.

My beds back onto a field. Will seed still get in?

Some will. A covering layer stops most weed seed already in the bed from getting going, and it does not stop new seed arriving on the wind. Expect to pull a few rather than none, and expect the edges to need the most attention.

Do you cover all of Aldergrove?

Yes, and both sides of the municipal line, which runs through the east end of it. Give us the address and we will sort out which is which.

Do you build the beds and the retaining walls too?

No. We are not a hardscaping crew, so walls, paving and structural work go to a trade that does that properly. We will happily mulch the beds once they exist.

Do you spray the beds before mulching?

No, weed killer is not something we use at all. Whatever needs clearing is pulled by hand before anything goes down.

Related Services and Areas

Get a Bark Mulch Quote in Aldergrove

Tell us roughly how much bed you have and whether it has been mulched before. If you are not sure whether the beds want compost as well, that is fine, it is what we look at when we come out. You can also contact us first.