Pretty Simple Gardens

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​Composting in place is actually one of the healthiest things you can do for your garden, yard and for the environment.  The natural organic decomposition process will feed worms, the microbes in your soil, and your plants.   Your soil will improve very easily.  The fancy wording is "soil regeneration" and it is becoming more popular these days.  The methods are really more old-fashioned and organic.  Most importantly soil regeneration is super healthy for you and your plants.  

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Mulching is important to retain moisture in your garden and protect your plant's roots.  I've used bark mulch and leaf mulch, depending on my mood that year.  Layering bark mulch on the edge of my beds over my leaf mulch is a good way to feed your plants while also making your garden look tidy.

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Important tip - tree volcanos are not good for your trees/bushes/plants.  Be sure the mulch is not up against the plant stem, bush or tree trunk.

 

Leaf mulch is my favorite mulch.  Leaves improve the soil so much which makes for healthier plants which will survive drought and disease better.  You'll have less to do.  I will say that oak leave are very tough so best to grind them either with a lawnmower or leaf mulcher before leaving them in your gardens.  

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Autumn:

• I leave most plants "as is" over the winter for bugs to nest in.

• If I must chop down some plants, I chop and drop the leaves into small pieces to decompose in place in my garden. 

• I leave most of the tree leaves in my garden beds to protect the plants from the harshness of winter - kind of like a nice, cozy blanket.  If it's super thick, use my judgement and maybe remove some.  But, leaves in garden beds is good.

• I use the bag on my mower to collect the leaves on my grass.  Then I sprinkle those leaves around my garden beds or put them in my compost bin. 

• Too many leaves?  I save bags of leaves for the spring too. 

Spring

• I leave the beds alone until the temps are in the 50's and the bugs have emerged from my leaves and overwintering plants.  This may be in late April or May in my area.

• I gently loosen the decaying leaves in your garden beds so that they are not matted. They are also pulled away from the base of your bushes, plants and trees.  I leave leaves in my garden as my first layer of weed suppression as perennials are emerging from winter hibernation.

• Sometimes I rake the leaves to the edge of my garden so that the garden and leaves dry out a bit to reduce disease.  I let them dry for a few days then run my mower with the bag attached over the leaves.  I dump the bagged, chopped leaves right back in the gardens as mulch.  They decompose very quickly.  

• I will also "chop and drop" the plants left up over the winter into small pieces so that they too can decompose right where they live. 

• When I add bark mulch after my perennials have emerged, I limit it to no more than 1" thick so that rain can get through to the plant roots.  I also make sure the mulch is not touching the stem or trunk of a plant, bush or tree.

• Manytimes I'll just mulch the edges of my garden so it looks tidy since the plant leaves fill in the rest of my garden so bark mulch is unnecessary.

Summer:

• When deadheading, I drop the spent flowers right near the base of their host plant.  The decomposing flowers will feed the garden nicely. 

• I also gently loosen up any leaves that are still decomposing to ensure water and air can get to the roots of the plants.

• If I need to water, I water deeply every 3-4 days during very dry spells.  My goal is for the roots to grow deeply so that the plants can survive dry spells.

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Bigger things like branches mostly they'll end up in my firepit.  Diseased plants get thrown out.

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Composting in place" has helped my garden so much!!  I now have more time to stop and smell the flowers.