3 Simple Ways to Make Your Own Mulch!

Mulch is a material that helps your gardens grow, encourages earthworms to congregate and turn the soil, and holds in cool temperatures to protect roots during heat waves. But it gets expensive to constantly buy bags of mulch and then deal with the foreign plants that sometimes hitch a ride in spore or seed form. Control your costs and your garden by making your own mulch instead! It’s easy and it’s a perfect way of recycling woody plants, cuttings, and dead branches that you clear from your lawn regularly.

Clean Up The Yard

Your own yard is an excellent source of material for your mulch pile. Plants that get woody stems as they age or die out are a great material as are branches, leaves, and bark. If you have a “dirty” tree, one that constantly drops bits of branches and leaves, collect them and throw them into the pile for mulch. Thick leaves from plants like Hydrangeas also provide texture and nutrients to the mulch.

Did you have a tree service Atlanta come in and chop up a stump? Use the chips from the stump for your pile. If you find that you don’t have enough material from your own yard, ask your neighbors if they mind you grabbing branches and leaves from their yard. It’s a bit of an unusual request, but you probably won’t get turned down as you’re providing a bit of free yard service. The more material you can source, the more mulch you’ll wind up with.

Don’t Throw Away Those Grass Clippings!

It’s normal to look at grass clippings as something that gets thrown out after mowing the lawn. But those grass clippings are also a source of nutrients that other plants can utilize. You can put the clippings into a compost pile so they start breaking down, or you can let the cut grass lie in place for a day or two, then gather it up once it’s dry. Don’t let the grass get to the point it starts heating up as that’s the moment the nutrients release. Instead, put it in with leaves, sticks, bark, and woody stalks you’ve either collected or are going to collect. The moisture and nutrients in the grass gets absorbed by the woody material instead of turning into something combustible.

Chop Up the Leaves in the Fall for Spring

Mulch is a lot like compost in that it can be left to age over winter. Starting a mulch pile in the spring gives you an entire growing season’s worth of material. When the leaves fall, use your lawnmower to chop them up into little pieces. Rake up the bits and throw them into your mulch pile so they can add nutrients for next year’s gardens.

Making your own mulch from leaves is much the same as creating a compost pile with a different outcome. You save money while controlling what goes into your own garden and get the added benefit of a clean yard.

Do you make your own mulch and what do you use?

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Marla

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Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog! I believe in living green, organically, and natural in every aspect of our lives. My mission is to help educate you on how to live green, help save our environment and to help you and your family live a happier, healthier life!