Whether or not raking the leaves every autumn serves as a respected tradition for your family or it is a greatly loathed task, the truth is — all those leaves have to go somewhere. So, after the children are finished jumping into the piles, do not simply lug those leaves all the way down to the end of your driveway with the rest of the garbage. Conserve a little bit of money and make your garden more productive by chopping this substance into mulch! Here are the steps:

1. Adding mulch to your backyard will improve root growth, protect soil erosion, and conserve soil moisture.  This will also produce a natural environment favorable to earthworms and additional healthy soil microorganisms. Producing mulch can be as simple as running over your raked foliage with a lawn mower. Then, just add this mulch to your garden with a dense, 2 to 4 inch covering. Make certain you do not use an intrusive plant variety, like dandelions, in the mixture, or you will see unwanted weeds gradually invade your gardening area!

2. Foliage makes outstanding mulch simply because it can be chopped into tiny parts.  Whenever left whole, leaves have a tendency to cling together and deflect rainfall. This causes the decomposition of leaves to take several years. The following discusses how mulch is created. Due to the fact that trees have extremely deep and broad roots, they possess the ability to collect minerals directly out of the soil. Leaves contain more minerals than manure, and based upon the tree variety, leaves may potentially contain a mineral weight equaling 5 percent of the entire compound.  This compound contains phosphorus and nitrogen, as well as trace elements. It doesn’t matter if your soil is composed of sand or clay; the fibrous plant based matter will decompose easily into humus, which improves the quality of your soil.

3. You may manufacture cost-free mulch by using natural refuse from your lawn or garden. Fallen leaves in your yard make exceptional mulch. They are also abundant in autumn. This foliage waste takes quite a while to decompose; however, with earthworms accomplishing their role, nutrients are naturally added into the soil. Leaves promote worm activity and retain soil moisture superbly. Should your neighbors neglect to use their leaves, make sure they are aware that you will gladly remove them from their property. Burning foliage is actually a waste of an outstanding and organic backyard resource.

4. Wood chips make great mulch too. Chippers are available for rent to home gardeners and are extremely helpful for chipping up those dead branches that fall to the ground during stormy weather or chopping the material you prune from bushes. Chipping can be time-consuming for those who have a large amount of material to chip, but this can certainly be an extremely effective method to utilize backyard waste products. An excellent mulch compound is made by mixing different varieties of mulch together. So go ahead and mix wood chips, leaves, and grass clippings to produce your mulch.

5. Organic mulch can be created by using different materials. One of which is human hair, a free alternative, which can be obtained from local hairdressers.  You may think this is disgusting; however, it is, without a doubt, an amazing mulch. When it decomposes it adds exceptional nutrients to topsoil. Many individuals use straw as a mulch. This provides nutrients during decomposition, since it is technically a grass clipping. Straw is the stem of a wheat plant, which is part of the grass family. Shredded paper may also be used, and can be purchased or freely obtained.  This makes great mulch because it will disintegrate directly into your soil. It will enhance the soil, and it is organic. Ask family and friends for their waste paper and shred it yourself. This is a great way to recycle and re-purpose, plus it is organic.

Be kind to the earth! Re-purpose leaves, grass clipping, and fallen tree limbs. Make your own mulch and save money while you enhance your environment.