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Gardening is a favourite hobby for many people, and an unavoidable part of that hobby is dealing with garden waste. Old leaves, stems and grass clippings all need to be removed regularly in order to keep a garden looking good.
Easy ways to deal with garden waste
Here are some easy, eco-friendly ways to deal with garden waste before it becomes a big issue.
1. Turn waste into compost
Composting garden waste is a cheap and easy option. It also disposes of waste in an environmentally friendly manner and provides you with useful compost. Grass, leaves, stems and dead flowers can all be composted in a suitable bin to make organic compost, which is eco-friendly and can save you money. Vegetable peelings and eggshells can also be added to your compost, but avoid meat and dairy products as these can attract pests.
If you don’t want to dispose of garden waste by composting, you can use the service of handygardeners.com who deal in gardening, garden maintenance, and landscaping.
2. Leave grass cuttings on the lawn
Cutting your lawn inevitably produces garden waste. However, you can leave a thin layer of grass cuttings on your lawn and reduce the amount of waste you have to deal with. The scattered clippings will help retain moisture and provide your lawn with nutrients.
Grass clippings release valuable organic matter and can be recycled to avoid landfill, disposal, and packaging costs. This approach works best if you mow your lawn regularly rather than covering it with a thick layer of clippings every now and then.
3. Turn garden waste into useful mulch
Mulching is beneficial for trees and plants and can also improve soil health. Mulching involves surrounding plants with a layer of organic matter that controls moisture and deters weeds and pests. It can also regulate soil temperature.
Shredded leaves, broken stems, chipped wood and bark, and grass can all be used as mulch. These slowly break down to form organic fertilisers and provide the nutrients that plants need for growth. This reduces waste and can reduce the demand for fertilisers too. Here, you can learn more about mulching and gardening services.
4. Make leafmould
In autumn, fallen leaves are in abundance in the garden, and that can lead to a lot of garden waste. However, you can put this waste to very good use by turning it into leafmould. This free mulch is great for improving soil structure and helping your soil to retain water.
Leafmould is very easy to make: you simply bag your leaves, add some drainage holes and some water to the bag, and leave it to decompose. In 6-12 months you will have what many gardeners refer to as “gardener’s gold”.
5. Use local green waste programmes
Some garden waste can be turned into compost and leafmould. However, some can’t be reused due to its large size, like large tree trunks or wood cuttings. These are not easy for the average gardener to compost or mulch, but they can still be effectively recycled. To do this, you need to research green waste programmes in your area.
These programmes use larger machinery to shred and compost the garden waste you can’t repurpose in an eco-friendly way. As well as helping to reduce pollution there is often an economic benefit for local communities.
6. Disposal of non-recyclable garden waste
Garden waste can also contain some materials that simply can’t be composted or recycled. These include diseased plant material, treated wood, and invasive plants. It’s important to dispose of these carefully to avoid the further spread of diseases and harmful elements in the environment. Waste that cannot be recycled should be removed in a timely manner to keep your garden tidy and disease-free.
Conclusion
Removing garden waste is very important for many reasons. You can deal with garden waste in a variety of ways, including composting, mulching, leafmould, and local green waste services. By using these methods, you can make your garden more environmentally friendly while also improving the health of your soil and your plants.
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