getting mulch from the dump ?

[terracore]

Thank you in advance for any help that you can provide. I'm going to go fetch my first pickup load of dump mulch. Can somebody who has been through the process explain this to a newbie and walk me through the process? I know its more complicated than showing up and getting loaded up with mulch. I understand the vehicle has to be weighed? Are their days/times when they load for you? Anything else I need to know? Best practices? Thanks again.

[1voyager1]

When you reach the stop sign where the road forks, the raised refuse dumping platform is to the left.
The continuation on to the green waste area is straight through the stop sign.
Pass by the dumping platform on your left.
You will come to the green waste mulching area on your right.
Pass by the first portion of it.
You then reach where the entrance to the mulching area is to the right [unpaved] and the entrance to the scale is to the left [paved].
Go to the scale first.
Let them weigh your vehicle and obtain a scale ticket.
Then drive on around and back to the mulching area.
My vehicle is short enough that I always pull a u-turn just passed the scale saving the drive around the return circle.
Give the ticket to the attendant or place it in the box and drive over to the loading staging area.
If you're not sure what to do, look for the attendant/loader driver and ask him.
You will be advised where and how to park for loading.
I have as mid-sized p/u
1 good full bucket fill me up.
If it is lightly loaded, I'll ask for more to be added.
Smooth the load out pushing the highest areas into the low areas, usually along one side of the vehicle.
Clean off your bumper, back and sides.
A good GVW load for me is the middle of the load being about 2' higher than the sides of the bed.
You MUST cover your load.
Carry a tarp to cover it with.
Before loading, I set it down in the front of the bed draped over the cab so that all I need to do is draw it back over the load, tuck it in along the sides and back, then add a couple of tie-down straps to hold it in place for the drive back to Puna.

Go back through the scale.
Let them re-weigh your vehicle.
The scale is closed for either 1/2 or 1 hour at noon.
try to time your trip so that you do not end up parked at the scale waiting for the attendant to finish lunch.
Once you're weighed the second time head for home.

[terracore]

AWESOME. Thanks!

[MarkP]

I have some little red ants at my place now and I know I have been bitten by something, but doesn't seem bad enough to identify them as LFA. Anyhow, I have gotten several loads of mulch from the dump. Don't know if there is any connection. Supposedly there are LFA in the woods surrounding the green waste site but none have ever been found in the actual mulch. That they have not been found I can believe but that none ever get in the mulch seems unlikely.

Anyway I usually bring peanut butter and put some on sticks in the mulch at each corner of the truck bed, then I stop by Home Depot or do other errands before leaving town. I don't know how long is necessary but supposedly if they are there they'll find the bait right away. That way if I find anything I can turn right around and return the mulch. I never have found anything.

[microage97]

If you are in HPP the LFA is already present....

[terracore]

Under most conditions LFA only travel about 10 feet from their colony, a 20 foot round trip, (and considering their size of 1/16 an inch, that is like humans traveling to the moon and back. I totally made up that comparison because I don't want to take the time to do the calculation, but it gives one an impression of what I mean, thank you for your appreciation of my estimate, or better yet, please use advanced arithmetic to post an accurate comparison) so detecting them in a freshly dumped/mixed up colony situation of mulch might be dubious.

Here is the Hawaii Ant Lab document on LFA and mulch: http://www.littlefireants.com/fact%20she...ooklet.pdf

I recently spoke in person with somebody who deals with such matters and his advice was when you fetch dump mulch or get a mulch delivery, sprinkle fertilizer on top and immediately cover it with black plastic out of the shade. (I guess if your mulch got dumped in the shade you already have a problem) Sprinkle an Amdro barrier around the mulch pile, and watch to make sure the mulch pile doesn't catch fire. I didn't ask him any follow up questions.

[shave_ice]

What does the fertilizer do and is there a specific kind you should use?

[Cagary]

quote:

---

Originally posted by 1voyager1

When you reach the stop sign where the road forks, the raised refuse dumping platform is to the left.
The continuation on to the green waste area is straight through the stop sign.
Pass by the dumping platform on your left.
You will come to the green waste mulching area on your right.
Pass by the first portion of it.
You then reach where the entrance to the mulching area is to the right [unpaved] and the entrance to the scale is to the left [paved].
Go to the scale first.
Let them weigh your vehicle and obtain a scale ticket.
Then drive on around and back to the mulching area.
My vehicle is short enough that I always pull a u-turn just passed the scale saving the drive around the return circle.
Give the ticket to the attendant or place it in the box and drive over to the loading staging area.
If you're not sure what to do, look for the attendant/loader driver and ask him.
You will be advised where and how to park for loading.
I have as mid-sized p/u
1 good full bucket fill me up.
If it is lightly loaded, I'll ask for more to be added.
Smooth the load out pushing the highest areas into the low areas, usually along one side of the vehicle.
Clean off your bumper, back and sides.
A good GVW load for me is the middle of the load being about 2' higher than the sides of the bed.
You MUST cover your load.
Carry a tarp to cover it with.
Before loading, I set it down in the front of the bed draped over the cab so that all I need to do is draw it back over the load, tuck it in along the sides and back, then add a couple of tie-down straps to hold it in place for the drive back to Puna.

Go back through the scale.
Let them re-weigh your vehicle.
The scale is closed for either 1/2 or 1 hour at noon.
try to time your trip so that you do not end up parked at the scale waiting for the attendant to finish lunch.
Once you're weighed the second time head for home.

---

One more thing that I like to do is bring along about twenty 15 gallon size nursery pots. Before I get loaded, I arrange them in a way that will "catch" the mulch. The 20 pots cover the entire bed of my pick up. When the mulch is dumped into the truck bed, it fills up these pots. When I get home, I have 20 pots already filled with mulch. Its a lot easier than having to shovel out a whole truck of mulch. The 15 gallon pots hold just enough mulch to easily carry them to where ever you need to use it at.

-Veritas odium parit”(Terence 195–159 BC))-"Truth begets hatred".

[terracore]

quote:

---

Originally posted by shave_ice

What does the fertilizer do and is there a specific kind you should use?

---

I'm guessing the fertilizer feeds the microorganisms that cause "stuff" to turn into compost. I've seen compost steaming from such activity, I guess it can go from steaming to smoking if you're not careful. Unfortunately, I did not ask him any follow up questions, however next time I see him, I will ask him what type of fertilizer.

[shave_ice]

I see now. So if there were any LFA, they would soon be smokin. [}]