How deep did you end up going once you found the flare? I used to be the guy piling mulch up to the trunk because that's how my dad did it and his trees lived, so I figured it was fine. Then a storm took out a 15 year old maple of mine and the base was a mush sandwich of wet bark and roots going in circles. Now I go 2 inches deep max and pull it back so there's a bare gap all the way around, maybe 3 or 4 inches of open dirt at the trunk. I used to think the gap looked unfinished, but a dead tree looks a lot worse. No edging for me, I just cut a clean circle with a flat shovel once a year so the grass doesn't creep in.

Did you know you can skip the bacon marathon and just bake the thing with flaxseed oil? I read on a cast iron forum that you rub a super thin layer on, bake it upside down at like 450 for an hour, and repeat a few times. That gets you most of the way there in one afternoon instead of three weeks. It won't be quite as nonstick as your old bacon layers right away, but it beats starting from scratch. Also make your roommate buy the flaxseed oil.