The Hortisexual

Why is it so hard to find Hershey’s Cocoa Shell Mulch in South Jersey?

I randomly called 26 garden centers in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Mercer Counties looking for it. I found only one store carrying it: Dambly’s Garden Center in Berlin (856-767-6883).

I also called The Hershey Company. Played phone tag with the media relations dept. for a couple of days. I’ll let you know what they say when I finally connect.

It’s available in abundance at nurseries in and around the town of Hershey, PA. In fact it’s cheaper out there too, by almost half. But by the time you factor a tank and a half of gasoline and family tickets to Hershey Park, your true cost per bag is probably closer to 100 bucks.

The stuff is good. It’s 100% organic. No dyes. Suppresses weeds. Conserves moisture and improves soil texture. Deters insects (slugs hate it!). Keeps its looks for a couple seasons. Lightweight and easy to spread - - it only takes a one inch layer to be effective.

Cocoa shell mulch adds organic matter and nutrients to the soil as it breaks down, unlike manufactured mulches that actually rob the soil of nutrients. It contains nitrogen, phosphate and potash.

It’s even environmentally PC. The Hershey factory in central PA generates more than 10,000 tons of the stuff annually making chocolate goodies, that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

I’ve even heard a gardener claim it repels deer.

Oh yeah, and it has the enticing aroma of brownies baking in the oven. Mmmm.

Cocoa shell mulch has all the ingredients of a status symbol: it’s hard to acquire, it’s expensive, it’s exotic. I can just imagine McMansioneers bragging: “My landscaper won’t let anything but Hershey’s Cocoa Shell Mulch touch the inside of his wheelbarrow.”

It may even have sex appeal: “Yo baby, wanna check out my perennial bed? It’s mulched with the husks of roasted cocoa beans imported from Honduras.”

Kinda put’s a whole new spin on chocolate and roses as an aphrodisiac.

Is there a hotter topic than global warming?

You can’t turn on the TV, radio, surf the ‘net, pick up a newspaper or magazine without seeing green. Even Sports Illustrated featured a climate change cover story. View image

I’ve been around long enough to see environmentalism go from long-haired radical to so mainstream even Democrats and Republicans are hugging the same trees.

Our culture elevates environmentalists to rock star status. Some even get to take home an Academy Award. View image

Fortunately, protecting the planet has become almost second nature for most of us. My teenage daughter would never think to drop a soda can or cardboard Pop Tart box in the trash bin under the sink. That stuff gets recycled.

When I was her age recycling meant dating the same girl more than once.

The big fear with climate change is greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing ornamental cherry trees to bloom in January.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average household is responsible for the emission of almost 60 tons of CO2 annually. Charging all those iPods and cell phones, burning heating fuel, cruising the ‘burbs in SUVs, along with products we consume day in and day out add up to a pretty hefty carbon footprint.

Yikes!

If you’re searching for someone to save us from a climatic cataclysm, just look in the back yard.

Anyone who gardens is an eco-hero.

Let’s start with the three letters every gardener should know: IPM - - Integrated Pest Management.

More than $5 billion is spent each year in the U.S. on fossil fuel-derived fertilizers that leak chemicals into the ground and accelerate the release of greenhouse gases. The basis of IPM is simply this: healthy plants are less vulnerable to insects and disease. You can significantly curtail the use of chemicals by monitoring and accurately diagnosing landscape problems, and then employing cultural, biological and limited chemical control strategies. Rutgers has a terrific fact sheet about IPM. Download file

Composting vegetable food scraps and coffee grinds, sawdust, ashes, leaves and grass clippings makes for an excellent homemade soil conditioner and helps keep trash out of landfills.

While you’re at it, return grass clippings to the lawn instead of bagging ‘em and placing them at the curb. Grass clippings are rich in nitrogen.

Growing vegetables, fruit and herbs in the home garden saves energy. Home-grown produce rack up fewer “petroleum miles” than tomatoes trucked long distances to your table. They taste better too!

Planting trees is another way to do something about climate change. A single tree can absorb up to a ton of CO2 over its life. Trees and shrubs in the home landscape also conserve energy. Trees shading A/C units, windows and walls, especially planted on the west and southwest side of a house can reduce the energy used for air conditioning and heating by 20 to 50 percent.

While we’re on the subject of trees, composting leaves in the fall instead of blasting them with a gas-powered hurricane can help clear the air. The pollution spewed from a leaf blower in one-half hour is equal to the emissions from driving 2,200 miles - - that’s as much air pollution as driving 15 round trips on I-95 between Longwood Gardens and the New York Botanical Garden. Oh yeah, and the fewer mountains of leaves in the street, the less gasoline and oil being burned by those noisy township vehicles that lumber along sucking up curbside foliage.

Planting native species and xeriscaping cuts down on watering, pesticides and fertilizers. Get a copy of Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants, from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. View image

And if nothing else, when you’re out in the garden, you’re not using all those kilowatts running the TV or computer!

So next time a neighbor chides you for spending too much time working in the garden, just tell them it isn’t easy saving the planet!

P.S. – Happy Earth Day!

Photo credit: Green Mountain Energy Company