[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by juneroses

I agree with you, graciegirl. I also like the look of pine straw and it's good for the soil (SAND!) that we have north of 466. As the pine straw breaks down, it enriches our soil. If you enjoy gardening, something other than stone offers greater ease in redesigning and relocating plants. If a weed takes hold in rock mulch with the underlying cloth, it can be a bear to try to completely remove. And weeds will sprout in both rock and pine straw. I'll grant to the rock proponents that if someone carelessly tosses a lit cigarette butt in the mulch, the rock will not support a fire whereas dried pine straw would.

When I redressed my beds in the fall, there were several places that sold baled pine straw:

R & K Farms, 3 miles south of the Villages at 2165 Highway 27/441
Dirt Cheap, north of the Villages at 13265 Highway 27/441
Fairfield Farms at 12472 US 301 (between US 42 and CR 466)

You might also check with your grasscutter. During a casual conversation with the young man who cuts our grass, my husband mentioned that we'd be renewing the mulch. Our grasscutter volunteered to pick up the bales we needed and he brought them the following week.

Thank you Juneroses, from one Cincinnati girl to another!!