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These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article parts. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Part 1. Collect leaves. Many homes have leafy trees and plants that provide a great mulch source, and leaf mulch is a good all-purpose mulch for your garden.
You can either gather leaves by raking up ones that fall in the autumn, or collect the leaves that you prune off plants. Avoid using the leaves from walnut and eucalyptus trees, as these can prevent other plants from growing.
Rake the leaves into a pile. Use a rake or leaf blower to amass all your leaves into a large pile. To prevent damage to the lawnmower blades, pile the leaves on a flat section of lawn. Shred the leaves with a lawnmower. Once the leaves are all piled together in a thin layer, turn on your lawnmower and mow over the pile a few times to chop the leaves into smaller pieces.
Continue shredding until the pieces are dime-sized. You can also use an electric leaf shredder to chop the leaves. Use the mulch right away and store extras.
Once the leaves have been shredded, they're ready to use as mulch in the garden. Extra mulch can be stored in a ventilated barrel, a large bag with air holes, or spread out on a tarp and covered from the elements. Once the leaf mulch is ready, you can also combine it with other mulch materials from around the yard.
The longer the mulch is stored, the more nutrients it will lose. Mulch that is stored in low or no ventilation areas will begin to ferment and release high pH toxins, which are deadly to plants. Part 2. Chop up tree branches, bark, and trimmings. Wood also makes great mulch, and you can make wood or bark mulch from organic matter from around the yard. Go around your house and collect fallen branches, bark, or tree trimmings that you pruned from your plants.
Put on safety glasses and process the wood and bark through a wood chipper to make a mulch. Wood decomposes more slowly than leaves, so this would be a good mulch for long term use.
Collect grass clippings to add to the mulch. Grass clippings make an ideal addition to leaf mulch, though they aren't as effective when used alone. After mowing your lawn, rake up the grass clippings. Mix the clippings in with the leaf mulch and use a spade or pitchfork to mix them together. If your mower has a bag to collect grass, simply pour the contents of the bag into the leaf mulch when you're done.
Rake up pine needles for your mulch. Like grass clippings, fallen pine needles can also be mixed with leaf mulch. Pine mulch is best used with acid-loving plants. Repurpose shredded paper. Newspaper and other types of paper from around the house can also be recycled and turned into mulch.
Combine the paper shreds with the leaf mulch and use as normal. Part 3. Mulch in summer and winter. In summer, mulch will help your gardens retain moisture and keep the roots cool. In winter, the mulch will protect the plants from frost and help to keep the soil warm. Summer mulches will decay over time, but winter mulch should be removed in spring. Ideal winter mulches include pine needles, straw, and bark.
Remove old winter mulch. In the spring when you start gardening again, remove the winter mulch that protected the gardens during colder weather. You can add the removed mulch to your compost pile. Mulch is often made of organic material and has many benefits for your landscaping and gardens.
Organic mulch reduces soil moisture evaporation, suppresses weeds and prevents weed germination, insulates soil from extreme temperature changes, reduces soil erosion and compaction, gradually decomposes adding valuable organic material to the soil, and makes landscaping more attractive.
Mulch is primarily made of organic material and can come in a variety of forms. Mulch is most commonly made of tree bark, wood chips, pine straw, moss, grass clippings, or leaves. Other substances like newspaper, manure, compost, or rubber are also popular.
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