These materials will break down over time, helping with soil nutrition. When they break down, they add organic matter and nutrients to the soil. For this reason, one can say that they eventually serve as soil amendments. They are sometimes called "organic" mulches. Stone is the exception. It will not break down. Seashells will break down over time, but only after much time has passed, and only if you walk upon them a lot. But stone and seashells are still natural and sometimes used as mulches, which is why they are included in the list above. Be careful, though, in choosing to use stone as a mulch. Make sure that you really want it to be covering the ground in the area that you have chosen for it. This is because, once in place, stone is very hard to get rid of. If you change your mind about having it there later and try to remove it, you will find yourself having to fish a bunch of small stones out of the soil. And remember, stone does not break down into the soil, the way a bark mulch does, for example (so you may be stuck with it). Cocoa-hull mulch is one of those products that is popular for a few years, then falls out of favor, then makes a comeback, only to fall out of favor again. This roller-coaster ride is due to concerns over its being poisonous to dogs (and, potentially, to other pets). Earlier this century, much was made of this danger. Then, for a while, it became popular to say that the poison scare was a "myth." But the would-be myth-busters were not claiming that cocoa hulls were safe. They were only claiming that dogs rarely ate them. So gardeners are now starting to revisit the poison question again. What should you do? Use common sense. If you have pets and would worry about them eating cocoa-hull mulch and getting sick, just don't use cocoa hulls. There are plenty of other nice mulches to pick from. Pine needle mulch is sometimes called "pine straw," especially in the southeastern United States. Many gardeners with Eastern white
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