Is there a tool other than a shovel to use for digging for mulch?

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farmerjohn1324

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I want to dig 3 inches deep around these bushes to put mulch down. All I have is a shovel. Is there a tool specially designed for this that could speed up the job?
 

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Maybe a grubbing hoe? Or just a sturdy hoe that you can use to drag dirt away. That's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head.
 
Be careful not to damage the roots of your shrubs. A landscaper i have worked with would add the mulch on top of the soil. If you need to keep it contained, cut a trench around the perimeter of the mulch bed about an inch or two deep, and tamp down the mulch into the trench. The trench does not need to very wide and really only needs to be vertical on the outside edge.
 
#1, There the wrong type bush to be planted there, there to tall leggy and to close to the house.
#2, It's never a good idea to have mulch piled up against the foundation for several reasons!
You never want anything holding in moisture next to it, it will attract insects and Termites which need moisture to build there tunnels.
If I was doing that job I'd suggest ripping those bushes out by the roots, cleaning it up with a rototiller, if I was going to plant bushes I'd be planting something like Boxwoods at least 4' from the house and using stone with a steel border not mulch.
 
I agree with Joe, hook chain to truck and bush and put truck in drive. Tie a loose rope from shrub to another shrub so the pulled one will not take out the rear window of the truck.
 
#1, There the wrong type bush to be planted there, there to tall leggy and to close to the house.
#2, It's never a good idea to have mulch piled up against the foundation for several reasons!
You never want anything holding in moisture next to it, it will attract insects and Termites which need moisture to build there tunnels.
If I was doing that job I'd suggest ripping those bushes out by the roots, cleaning it up with a rototiller, if I was going to plant bushes I'd be planting something like Boxwoods at least 4' from the house and using stone with a steel border not mulch.

So I should leave a few inches of space between the mulch and house?
 
There should be no mulch used at all around that house. (yes I know everyone does it, does not make it right)
That sure looks like T-111 siding that's already way to close to grade. (it should have been a minimum of 6" of any grade or solid surface.)
Termites need moisture to build there tunnels, mulch holds in moisture.
With mulch that close to the siding it never has a chance to dry out and will rot.
 
There should be no mulch used at all around that house. (yes I know everyone does it, does not make it right)
That sure looks like T-111 siding that's already way to close to grade. (it should have been a minimum of 6" of any grade or solid surface.)
Termites need moisture to build there tunnels, mulch holds in moisture.
With mulch that close to the siding it never has a chance to dry out and will rot.

Not even if I leave 12" of dirt between house and mulch?
 
I'd leave a space between the house and the mulch even with cedar just to be on the safe side. And you might be able to use some of that plastic landscaping edging that you can put in the ground to keep it contained and away from the house.

I see there is some vertical siding on the house that ends a few inches above the ground. What is below the siding? Is it concrete or wood?
 

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