That might not be the correct name for it - I think it's actually hulls from cocoa beans. I've seen it in a few beds here and there and I love the look of it. It has a nice rich chocolate brown color and smells great.

What I'm wondering is if it breaks down quickly or slowly. And also if anyone knows if it has a tendency to change the soil ph.

Thanks in advance.

Buffy, I do not have information to answer your question but I have read about problems it may present to pets...not sure if that is an issue for you...

Here's one link about it...

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_publicationscocoa

Judy

I've used it and I LOVE it! I can't afford it very often, but if I won the lottery tomorrow, all my flowers would be mulched with it.

It stays put pretty well and doesn't break down too fast. In my very heavy clay soil, it makes a nice amendment if it happens to get dug into the soil. I did it unintentionally this afternoon when I planted some new flowers in a spot I'd mulched with cocoa hulls last year.

One drawback, if it gets wet in the bag, it molds and it stinks to high heaven. Smells like rotten hog feed when it gets moldy.

Once it's applied and gets rained on, it sort of tends to crust over. That's a big plus for me because it doesn't blow away like everything else I use.

As far as the pets thing goes, we've always got dogs around. Not just ours but neighborhood dogs as well. They never bother it. My cat ate a lot of it one time. He threw it all back up and was fine. The dog I've got now loves chocolate candy bars (something his real owner, not me, got him hooked on). He doesn't even acknowledge the mulch as chocolate.

I love using cocoa bean mulch. I especially like using it in pots, as its fine texture makes it easy to pour between tightly spaced plants.

Top for goodness sake don't feed your dog chocolate. It can kill him.chocolate and dogs .

One bite of a Snicker bar is not going to kill a dog.

To quote the article you linked to:

quote:

At our practice, a 20-pound dachshund showed serious signs of poisoning after eating 3/4 of a pound of milk chocolate and another 22-pound dog died after eating two pounds of baking chocolate

My goodness, I don't even keep that much chocolate in the house, much less where a dog could get at it.

I've read the same sort of thing about the cocoa hull mulch. Pets would have to eat massive amounts of it for it to be toxic.

I know this is off topic re Buffalo Gal's original question, but since it's been brought up about the toxicity of theobromine in cocoa mulch and/or chocolate of any kind, I wanted to comment.

I totally agree w/Jennifer. Top, there's a sentence above that quote from the link Jennifer posted which I think is equally important to note:

quote:

"However, serious non-fatal poisonings have been reported in dogs after eating smaller amounts."

According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, while a dog weighing (for instance) 44lbs will normally experience intestinal distress after eating less than an 8-1/2 oz bar of chocolate (or 240 grams), even as little theobromine in a 1 oz. bar of chocolate in that same 44lb. dog can bring on some symptoms. Since every dog, like every person, will metabolize the theobromine differently, one has no way of knowing just how much is necessary to cause heart problems, breathing problems, dehydration, seizures or even death.

There's no question theobromine is toxic. But toxic doesn't always have to mean "death". It can just mean one very sick puppy. The fact that your dog never showed any signs of ill effects makes him one lucky pup and, perhaps, w/a metabolism that can somehow better handle the chemical.

Even the USDA Wildlife Management is conducting studies on the use of theobromine in chocolate as a "control" for predator coyotes especially around sheep farms.

Other animals like horses and some birds and - yes - even cats metabolize the theobromine as poorly as dogs. Cats, however, don't have a sweet tooth like dogs, so for them it's not a problem simply because they avoid it. (**Smart kitties** ).

Buffalo Gal: I'm sorry I can't offer any advice re using the mulch itself. Never tried it. My sense is that if it smells that much of chocolate, you'd stay out in the garden longer than you do! Besides, how much gardening can you get done lying face down on your mulch? Baahaaahaa!

Thanks for the help everyone. We don't have outdoor pets, so I'm OK in that respect. I appreciate those of you who have used it sharing your experience with it as a mulch. The local Meijer store carries it for $3.99 a 2 cu. ft. bag (which I thought was rather expensive), so I'll probably reserve it for small areas unless it goes on sale.

And Gardenz, I've always wished that when my day comes I hope I am in my garden. Now I hope I'm in my garden face down in the cocoa mulch!

I think $3.99 is about what it runs here too. You don't have to put it on quite as thick as some mulches, but still it's a little expensive. I use it on my flower bed right beside the door so I get that cocoa smell.

I love it. I wish I could find it in an organic form - I don't want to use it near edibles. In my yard it breaks down pretty quickly but I don't lay it down as thickly as I should. I like it in containers too.

Throw it down and spray it with the hose and it'll stick together fairly well. I love the color too.

When I was a kid, we didn't get much candy. If we got it, it was in Easter baskets or Halloween. I wanted to savor mine. My brother wolfed his down, then ate mine.

So, one day when I was passing by a chocolate store near Easter, I decided to make myself an adult size Easter basket, loaded with chocolate. Made a smaller one for the hubby. He wasn't a big chocolate fan like I am so I gave him more cookies and nuts than chocolates.

The baskets were up on the top shelf the day after Easter while I was at work. Came home and the hubby told me that my dog managed to knock down the shelf, got my basket, had wrappers everywhere and not one single piece of chocolate could be found. My dog never showed any sign of sickness and I was ready to rush her to the vet. No poop in the house and I went outside with her to make sure she was okay for several days. She was only about a year or two old at that time.

Even though she didn't get sick that time, I never give her chocolate. The hubby will give her chocolate chip cookies occasionally even though I don't approve of dogs getting "people" food. Good thing we never had kids.