By: Lydia Brinkley
USC Buffer Coordinator
From the 2020 Stroud Buffer Training, Upper Susquehanna Coalition folks were introduced to a new method of weed management: stone mulch. As described by Stroud, this could potentially be an alternative method of weed control as compared to weed mats and herbicide. The stone mulch, they hypothesize, could provide sustainable weed management in comparison to hiring herbicide applicators multiple times per year. Coordinating herbicide applications can be cumbersome for stretched staff, and this could also be a potential solution to not always having long term, flexible funding to spend on herbicide applications year after year.
On July 22, the Cortland Soil and Water Conservation District implemented stone mulch around 200 seedlings near the Tioughnioga River. The Town of Homer Highway Department brought stone mulch to the project site and drove between the rows as staff placed 2-3 shovelfuls of the material around each tube (Picture 1). All plants were tubed, so the method of placing the stone mulch was the same throughout the site. The stoned area was approximately 18” in diameter by 2” in height once tamped down with your foot (Picture 2). Stone used by Stroud was “2A” material that is composed of angular rock, 2” at most with fines included. For this project, similar material was used. Having a loader, tractor, or other piece of equipment to be able to drive through the site is essential for practice implementation. A good-sized crew made really short work of this project too. We’ll keep you posted with how stone mulch turns out!
View online resources from our 2020 Stroud Training at this link and view training videos, powerpoints, research papers, and planting resources!
Project Details
Using Stone Mulch to Reduce Weed Growth
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