Your neighbor ---- single man, is he?
One of the quicker ways to speed up a divorce - dumping 15 yards of mulch in the driveway.
lol
Seriously though, lots of mulch is the way to go. Everyone should take a tour of Unbelievable Acres in West Palm Beach guided by Gene Joyner himself. I did this 2 weeks ago with my club. Heavy mulching over time creates a biosphere of microrganisms, worms and mycorrizae colonies that promotes healthy rapid growth. Except for a few types of plants Gene said he doesn't even have to fertilize any more. Absolutely amazing experience walking thru a true rainforest located on 2 acres in WPB, Fla.
This last pic shows the mulch around the plants and over the pathways. It's very springy to walk on - like a firm mattress.
Dan
The only mulch that is available and free here is the left overs from processing the agave plant to make Tequila , my idea is to cover the whole orchard with it to keep humidity in the ground and maybe keep the weeds a little under control . This mulch has a sweet sugary smell ( maybe it is sweet but I am not gonna taste it ) . If there are sugars in it , how would this affect the soil and plants ?? I did a small part as a test , so far nothing negative happened besides some white fungus growing here and there , will take a pic and post later....
I cannot see how that agave waste will hurt. It is shredded? Then will decompose quickly and add black organic humus content to your soil. Here is a neighbor who uses mucho mulch
Heavily mulched mango tree. 12" deep mulch in most places.
Heavily mulched mango tree
Here is the chipped trees from a tree trimming crew dropped off in his driveway a few months ago. Used to mulch his trees keitt mango, canistel, hap ip lychee and lula avocado and banana
____________________________________________________