How to Make Mulch

Mulch is a practical way to recycle organic materials from your house and garden. It's a great way to put nutrients back into the soil. Rather than buying mulch at the garden center for your yard and garden, you can make your own with very little cost.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mulching lawn mower
• Chain saw
• Wood chipper (Rental)
• Shovel

1. Determine how much mulch you need to have to cover your flowerbeds. Most mulch needs to be several inches deep. Figure in how big your flowerbeds are so you can estimate approximately how many square feet of mulch you need to make.

2. Set aside a section of your yard for the mulch pile. Make sure there aren't any shrubs or bulbs under it. You should realize the grass under the mulch pile might die.

3. Start your mulch pile in the fall. Rake leaves and then run them under a mulching lawn mower to chop them up. Set the leaves in the area you have set aside for your mulch pile. Continue to chop leaves as they fall. Add them to the pile.

4. Cut fallen limbs from trees in your yard into pieces with the chain saw. Go to the local rental store and rent a wood chipper. Put the limbs into wood chipper to make wood mulch. You can keep the mulch from different trees separate or you can mix it all together.

5. Take steps to keep the mulch from decomposing before you use it. This is different from compost. You want it to decompose.

6. Plant your flowers and plants in the garden. Water them well. Put the leaf mulch on your flowerbeds.

7. Use the shovel to distribute the wood mulch around the base of trees in your yard. Make new mulch and replace it as the old decomposes.