How to Create Mulch at Home

You can make mulch at home.

Making your own mulch saves money, as you maintain your garden in an attractive and healthy way. Creating mulch is easier than you might initially imagine, and can be completed with a few simple tools at low cost.

Things You'll Need

• Mulch bin (optional)
• Mulching mower
• Wood chipper (rental)
• Shovel
• Mulching material
• Garden hose

Instructions

1. Buy or build a mulching bin. While you can mulch in a pile, it's much less hassle to mulch in a bin. Good mulching bins will keep the product inside, but allow air and water to permeate the mixture, keeping it damp without leaving it to sit in standing water.

2. Install a mulching blade on your lawnmower. One of the easiest places to find good mulch base is your lawn. A mulching blade will give you great material for years. Be sure to disconnect the spark plug under the lawnmower deck to ensure the mower doesn't start while you're working.

3. Chip your branches and sticks. Most equipment rental stores will rent a wood chipper for a reasonable price. A key component to aesthetically pleasing mulch is wood chips. Run branches and larger pieces of mulching material through the chipper for a fine grade of chips that's suitable for garden beds.

4. Keep your leaves. Fallen leaves make nice mulching material that, when mixed into your mulch, will add nutrients back into the soil.

5. Mix the mulch together. Using your shovel, mix the grass clippings, wood chips and leaves together in the mulching bin or pile and, using your garden hose, water it until it's thoroughly soaked.

6. Let the mulch decompose, which typically takes three to four weeks for garden use. Be sure to keep it damp, about as wet as a wrung-out washcloth. This helps with decomposition. When the material responds to hand-sifting, more like soil and less like a handful of twigs, it's ready to use.

7. Spread your new mulch in the garden beds of your choice. To be effective, you'll want to spread it at least 2 inches thick and no more than 6 inches thick. This will ensure maximum benefit from your mulching material.

Tips & Warnings

• Always use caution when operating power equipment such as lawnmowers and wood chippers.

References

• More on mulching and composting

Resources

• More on mulching bins