Tea tree mulch, farm direct
Fine, fibrous and chemical free. Sold by the cubic metre and delivered across the Northern Rivers.
Tea tree mulch is the fine, stringy mulch produced from tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), the native plant this region grows for tea tree oil. Ours comes from our own harvest: the tea tree grows on our farm at Teven, near Ballina, and is cut and mulched right here. Nothing added, nothing dyed, nothing trucked in from somewhere else.
What arrives on your driveway
Fresh tea tree mulch is grey-brown with reddish heartwood through it, made of long soft fibres, fine twigs, strips of papery bark and flecks of leaf. It smells faintly of tea tree oil when it goes down.
- Fine fibres that knit into a mat and stay put in wind and heavy rain
- Lasts 12 to 18 months from a single 75mm layer
- Chemical free, no dyes, no treated timber waste
- pH 6.0 to 6.6, slightly acidic to near neutral
- Low in nutrients, which is exactly what native gardens want
- Builds soil carbon and structure as it slowly breaks down
Read the full benefits guide, including the honest downsides. Every mulch has them.
How to lay it right
Weed first, soak the soil, then rake the mulch out to a 75mm layer. Never deeper than 100mm: a thicker layer can start shedding rain instead of letting it through. Keep a 10 to 15cm mulch-free collar around every stem and trunk, because collar rot loves our humid climate.
One standard wheelbarrow holds about a tenth of a cubic metre, so a single cubic metre is roughly ten barrow loads.
The full how-to guideNot sure of your area? The mulch calculator does the sums for you.
Where it earns its keep
Native gardens
Grevilleas, banksias and most natives evolved on lean soils. Low nutrient mulch with a near neutral pH is what they want under them, laid to the drip line with the collar kept clear.
Paths, slopes and big beds
The knitted mat holds on sloping ground and underfoot, which is why landscapers here spec it for paths, banks and broadacre ornamental beds that only get attention once a year.
Straight advice with every order: tell us what you are mulching and we will match the load to the job. Two safety notes we always give: play equipment needs certified softfall rather than garden mulch, and in bushfire prone spots keep fine mulch a metre back from the house.
Ordering is one phone call
- Measure your beds. Rough length and width is enough, or bring a number from the calculator.
- Call 0402 294 776. We will land on the right load size, quote a delivered price for your town, and book a delivery day. Mon to Sun, 8:30am to 5:00pm.
- We tip where it works. Driveway, verge or paddock gate. Tell us about tight access and we will sort it out before the truck leaves the farm.
Delivery across the Northern Rivers, from Byron Bay down to Ballina and out to Lismore.
Tea tree mulch questions
Is tea tree mulch safe for vegetable gardens?
Yes, it is chemical free and safe around edibles. For beds of hungry annual vegetables, though, a soft mulch like sugar cane feeds the soil faster as it breaks down. We recommend tea tree mulch for paths between beds, perennial herbs, fruit trees and everything ornamental.
Is tea tree mulch acidic?
It sits around pH 6.0 to 6.6, slightly acidic to near neutral, and it does not push soil pH around the way some pine bark products can. That makes it a safe choice across natives, ornamentals and fruit trees.
How long does a load last?
A 75mm layer lasts 12 to 18 months in Northern Rivers conditions. The surface silvers off to a driftwood grey as it weathers, and most gardens want a top up about once a year, ideally in late winter before the spring weeds.
How is it different from the bagged mulch at a hardware store?
Bagged tea tree mulch has usually been processed, bagged, freighted and shelved long before you buy it, and it costs a lot more per cubic metre. Ours goes from our paddocks to our chipper to your garden, fresh by the truckload.
How much does tea tree mulch cost?
Price depends on how many cubic metres you need and where the load is going. Call 0402 294 776 with your rough garden size and town, and we will give you a straight price for the load, delivered.
Get a delivered price today
Talk to the people who grew it. We will work out how much you need, quote it delivered, and book the truck.
Mon to Sun, 8:30am to 5:00pm. Delivery only, across the Northern Rivers.