Mulch madness: What to do during a pandemic? Get busy in the yard
People who’ve had to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic have found one way to stay busy.
Many have been calling Mulch Outlet in Pevely, owner Jeff Hunt said.
“Outdoor products have done well through all of this,” he said. “It’s because people have had time on their hands to do yard projects.”
Mulch Outlet, 2244 Front St., sells recycled mulch, decorative stone, compost and topsoil in bulk and in bags. Hunt said he and his staff of six have stayed busy working to accommodate increased sales volume.
“We’ve actually had traffic jams on several occasions,” he said. “Normally, you get that kind of thing on Saturday mornings, but we have had them on Wednesday afternoons.”
Mulch Outlet was started in 2011 as an outgrowth of Hunt Corp., a fourth-generation warehousing business.
“We were generating a lot of wood waste, and it became an issue of what to do with it,” Hunt said. “We decided to up-cycle the pallets and make garden products.”
One of Hunt’s biggest challenges is the fact that there isn’t a standardized measure in the rock/dirt/mulch hauling industry.
“Everybody has a different size of scoop,” he said. “It’s hard to compete against some places whose prices look better until you compare it correctly, apples to apples.”
Mulch Outlet sells its product by volume; a cubic yard of mulch starts at $12.
Hunt said COVID-19 is just one more challenge in the life of a business. “The virus wasn’t the only thing we’ve had to adapt to,” he said. “You have to think quick, take risks, and hope you’re still in business at the end of the day.
“A lot of people don’t make it because they don’t like change and can’t do it, or don’t do it quickly enough,” he said. “Me, I’ll do whatever it takes to still be here tomorrow.”
