Beware the Chocolate Mulch

May 12th, 2007

chocolate mulchIt sounds good on paper. Cocoa bean husks used as mulch, get use out of a waste product, smells nice as you walk by. I’ve seen this mentioned on websites and on TV shows. But I have never seen it in a store.

This Spring through I saw a bunch of bags at Meijer and decided to try one. It does smell like chocolate, unfortunately its almost useless as a mulch.

One week outside with a few days of rain and it turned into a clotted moldy mass with the consistency of a brownie. I’m not adverse to seeing various types of fungus showing up on mulch, its just doing it’s thing turning it into compost. This mold though, it was a sickly bluish white color, looked more and smelled more like bread mold or other mold you find on something lost in the back of your refridgerator. Plus, it only took a week to get like that. Usually it takes a full year for wood mulch to get clumpy like that. So I had to pick it all up and compost it, didn’t seem like a great thing to be growing basil in, plus I also noticed atleast one critter was getting into it.

So, be warned, cocoa bean husk mulch is a bad idea.

No related posts.

Posted in: Gardening, Troubleshooting » 

15 Responses to “Beware the Chocolate Mulch”

  1. Chris De La Rosa  Says:
    May 15th, 2007 at 5:02 am

    we owned a small cocoa estate in the Caribbean before I moved to North America and if you think it’s nasty looking as mulch… you should see it after it’s harvested and put to dry into cocoa beans. It’s basically covered in that white fungus substance similar to what you mentioned.

  2. 20 minute Jan  Says:
    May 16th, 2007 at 7:00 pm

    I’ve walked by public gardens where cocoa mulch was recently applied and found the scent really mouth-wateringly delicious.

    Our favorite pre-packaged mulch, however, is cedar chips. They are mildly aromatic, highly durable and slow to decompose. The cedar mulch layer can be pulled back easier to plant. Cedar is also reputed to discourage pests and mildew. We’ve had enormous success with it.

  3. Wicked Gardener  Says:
    May 17th, 2007 at 7:51 pm

    This stuff sounded irresistible and I did some research on it this week. Most of the sites mention that it can be very toxic to pets, especially dogs. This is the first I heard about it being unattractive too. Sounds like a no-go. Thanks for the post

  4. Laura  Says:
    May 26th, 2007 at 7:51 pm

    Egads. I, too, succumbed to the lure of the cocoa bean mulch, mainly because I liked the color and wanted something that would break down in one year. I just put it in one of my beds. I will be on the lookout for the yucky mold now. I did read at the Nationals Cocoa Shell page that the mold could be washed away.

  5. Adam Fletcher  Says:
    June 10th, 2007 at 7:24 am

    I also heard that these were really toxic to some animals in the garden.

    Thats why I have avoided them in the past

    Adam Fletcher

  6. Kari Hayes  Says:
    July 5th, 2007 at 10:23 am

    I’ve only just now discovered your blog. Just wanted to say I, too, was thrilled to hear about all the different mulches out there that put “waste” to good use. I didn’t try the cocoa, but went with the pecan shells instead. They weren’t a disaster, but I won’t use them again. They’ve composted nicely, but WOW! Don’t ever forget you’ve used them and make the mistake of stepping into your flower bed bare-footed! I can’t tell you the new dance steps I created while trying to get off those shells! NOT a good feeling!:)
    One more thing - I really enjoy your blog.

  7. Erin  Says:
    July 8th, 2007 at 10:33 pm

    I applied the cocoa bean mulch and noticed the mold, too. However, the mold does die out! It is harmless to the plants and it just runs its course. I have found it to be very beneficial to the soil and it looks great. Just be careful if you walk on it when it’s wet as it get very slippery when wet (hmmm, sounds like a good title for an album)!

  8. Barb  Says:
    July 10th, 2007 at 9:20 am

    I have been using cocoa bean mulch for a couple of years and really struggled at first with the odor as one of my gardens is right under my living room window.

    Surviving that, now I’m concerned about the mold. I’m not allergic, but I suspect this could be an issue for some folks. Mostly, I’m beginning to wonder if the mold isn’t killing my impatiens. I noticed they weren’t growing very fast despite regular watering. Then I put a blood meal fertilizer around each plant. They’ve been dying left and right. So, is it the mulch or the blood meal? Either way, I’m taking out the cocoa bean mulch, my dead impatiens, and am starting all over again with new soil for next year. Bummer!

  9. Gretchen  Says:
    July 25th, 2007 at 2:08 pm

    We used cocoa bean mulch a couple of years ago and had loads of positive comments about the smell from visitors - but after smelling it for several weeks - I soon grew to hate the smell, myself. We never got the mold on it - but we did have a lot of trouble with it floating away after a good rain since it was so light; and at almost three times the cost of cedar mulch, we decided to go back to the boring old cedar.

  10. Yetti  Says:
    August 6th, 2007 at 6:18 pm

    I just applied the CBM about 3 weeks ago after seeing it in a friends garden. Everything was fine at first, then a couple of days ago, we had hot, humid weather with no rain for in sight, so I water a couple of times a day (I also have thirsty impatiens, but they are doing really well)and that’s when the white fuzzy mold started. In fact, all my plants are doing well, but the mold is unsightly, especially considering how pleased I was after the initial application. Has anyone heard of/tried some sort of anti-fungal formula applied to the CBM??? I read about it on another site. If that works, I would try…I love CBM compared to the bark mulches. I think it has a more natural, subtle look to it. BTW, since it’s forming mold, does that mean it’s retaining moisture (which is my main purpose)??.

  11. Patrick Bowling  Says:
    September 27th, 2007 at 1:51 pm

    It’s interesting that you mention that the mold is turning it into compost. If you get back this far in your blogs, I was curious if these would be considered browns or greens when added directly to a compost heap. With weekly lawn trimmings, there seems to always be plenty of nitrogen, so I was hoping that these may be a good source of carbon. I usually run out of back stocked leave around june.

  12. Administrator  Says:
    September 27th, 2007 at 7:25 pm

    Brown, but the reason I didn’t like the mold, in addition to it being unsightly, was that it compacted & compressed the mulch so that water wasn’t getting in and the plants were having a hard time breaking through it.

  13. Lynn  Says:
    December 19th, 2007 at 7:17 pm

    I love my CBM, I put it down under my gardenias and not a weed in sight no snail. Yes at the beginning you will have mold but that goes away along with the smell. That was last year and ready to do it again this year.

  14. Brett  Says:
    December 26th, 2007 at 5:47 pm

    My wife loves chocolate, so I put the CBM in my front yard. The mold came after a few weeks of DRY california weather. I started to throw out the CBM but then heard it was harmless and beneficial. I’m not a fan of the mold but think I’ll let it ride in the rest of the garden. Thanks for the info everyone.

  15. David B  Says:
    June 11th, 2008 at 11:30 am

    I’ve been using cocoa shell mulch for around 6 years. My soil is pitch black and loaded with worms. My only complaint is weeds still get a good anchorage. I’ve heard cedar mulch is a better weed preventer but is slow in breaking down and turns gray. I’m curious would mixing the two be a good idea or not?

Leave a Response








(Email field must be filled in)

Top of page...