Green Gold

Water is at a premium in our lovely windy, semi-arid climate. Keeping our plants hydrated is a strenuous task. The Frugal Gardener also intensely dislikes weeding. So she has a solution to both. It's called mulch. Merriam-Webster defines "mulch" as "a protective covering (as of sawdust, compost, or paper) spread or left on the ground to reduce evaporation, maintain even soil temperature, prevent erosion, control weeds, enrich the soil, or keep fruit (as strawberries) clean."



Once mulching is done for the year, we start filling our mulch bin. To make the bin, Dad wired together six pallets that were headed for the landfill. (Rescuing items from the landfill always makes me feel virtuous.) Voila! Free mulch bin! Construction took about an hour.



We fill the bin with yard waste, mostly grass clippings. However, we do save leaves as well.



To suppress weeds, we lay down cardboard and newsprint before covering them with grass clippings, leaves or whatever else will degrade. I get the local newspaper's extra papers just for the asking.



I used to lay down just newsprint, but the cardboard stays down much better. That's very important in our high winds. My friend and I Dumpster dive until we get enough cardboard boxes to cover our gardens. We break down the boxes and remove all plastic tape. Plastic tape does not degrade and will just have to be pulled out of the garden later. Then we lay the flattened boxes on the ground. Weeds are smothered and the ground is better insulated than if we just used yard waste.

Do not use any coated paper or boxes. They don't degrade well, so you miss the soil enrichment. Make sure to completely cover the paper/cardboard to keep the wind from getting it.



Once I finish mulching, I water the new mulch to compact it as well as make it heavier.

Happy mulching!