The Best FREE Mulch

Organic mulch makes a big difference in the success of a garden and there are many free sources available. Leaves, grass, pine needles, and wood chips are accessible for most gardeners. Gardener Scott discusses how to find and use four different organic mulches and offers a bonus mulch choice that some gardeners can use. (Video #319)
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[@shineyrocks390]

Toss away the tiller and listen to this man, mulch is man's best friend. I can't wait to get my hands dirty again. I raise goats, chickens, and rabbits. I know what I'm feeding them. All my soiled bedding from the goats is straw and manure. The rabbits produce the best cold manure I can get. The chickens are literally my soil factory. When I mix these 3 into wood chips and compost them together and spread it out on top of my soil, I don't care who you think you are my seeds grow produce and several times over in a growing season the same Everytime improving each year that goes by. If your struggling to garden you've got to identify what mistake is being made and no matter how simple or complex it is fix it. Mulching is a definite prevention plan that wont fail. There's something to this deep mulch, Eden method, whatever you want to call it. I called it awesome. To see people who actually get it and apply it is wonderful to see so many people actually catching on. Rake back that layer and make a row beneath of seed and watch the garden grow. If I had to pick one thing I would say about mulch is my taste buds can not tell a lie. Food has flavor now and I now can tell you what a beautiful fresh organic non GMO strawberry tastes like ♥️

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

I've been raking the yards of our next door neighbors, and making off with the curbside leaf piles from other homes this year. A gardener can never have too many leaves. I've also been picking up any large fallen branches, to chop up and bury for core gardening. The town doesn't like people placing these branches in the leaf piles, and has told residents it's our responsibility to clean them up after a storm, so I'm essentially doing them a favor.

[@johnjude2685]

Give the brown paper recycle leaf bags from my neighbor and I return them the bags so they save $$$ and I get their leafs so it's a "Win - Win " for both of us. A layer of leafs on cardboard and next spring you will see so many worms that 💩 poop in the garden that's fertilizer is the best. Thanks again, I always try to get your live stream on Monday at 11:00 am. Thanks

[@kimklicker1886]

Its crazy that people still rake and bag leaves! For years I have just mowed over the leaves a few times and they just disintegrate! So good to feed the trees with their own nutrients. The grass is beautiful next summer! I do use my lawn sweeper to collect some for for the garden.

[@walterwillis5351]

Don't forget your electric utility company as a source of wood chips. Puget Sound Energy notifies customers in advance of tree trimming they will be doing in the vicinity and offer the chipped up trees for free. I imagine other electric utilities do the same.

[@cindynielson4231]

Free is my favorite 4 letter word. Thanks for all the great ideas. 👍🍁🍂🍃

[@miananni1247]

As many years as I’ve been gardening & landscaping (plus being a Master Gardener), you have taught me so much. You’ve further enriched my love of growing. 🍅 🥕 🌳

[@rosezingleman5007]

When we moved to our lovely Tennessee home, a house around the corner had a ton of piled up brush by the curb. I kept bugging hubs to go fill the back of the truck from that pile (our neighborhood trash is $$$$) but he kept putting it off. Then one day the owner of that rental house hauled it into the driveway and burned it!! Aaargh! It could’ve filled our raised beds half way. We ended up spending $1100 to fill them instead ☹️.

[@highlandscommunityclub1160]

I feel your pain!! Our chickens love to eat pumpkin and after Thanksgiving people put them out with their trash, to be composted. If I don’t pick them up immediately, they’re gone!!

[@stephenhope7319]

That is a great reminder to save leaves for mulch. I save several bags every year and usually put down a layer as I start my cover crops. Thanks for the video.

[@isabelladavis1363]

As a landscape gardener I have access to many bags of leaves that have a place in my garden as a wonderful mulch as well as compost filler layers …thank you and stay blessed

[@creative227]

Today I was mowing and catching leaves and I thought about whether or not it was a problem if I had pine straw in the mix. Thank you for clearing up the truth about pine straw and soil acidity!

[@reticulan5]

I dry out my grass cuttings on a concrete surface. It dries it very quickly in the sun. I then use it as bedding in my chicken coop and their yard. The chickens do their droppings and urine on to the grass. When its time to replace with fresh grass clippings. I rake up the old clippings and dig it in the garden.

[@brianseybert2189]

I use the bagged leaves to insulate my large winter compost and leaf mold bins. This past spring I ended up with a very healthy amount of both leaf mold and compost. I then have all those bagged leaves to use as mulch or to create even more compost and leaf mold. Also, I use crushed leaves as my go to worm bedding.

[@berrisbogle]

Am in the Coastal states too and I get everything free as well even my goat manure I get for free.

[@barrylomond2441]

Another free mulch ( except for personal effort and vehicle use to get it) is seaweed in my Canadian part of the world

[@Gkrissy]

Informative video. I love free mulches too. I also use chip drop, I need to finish spreading it. I also use pine needles for my flower beds from trees that blow from my neighbors . I also love leaves and just added 3 huge bags of leaves for the spring and my compost.

[@christianerardt3705]

Thanks for your good advice! Fortunately there is a public forest on the hill just 100 m behind our house, where i can pick up beech leafs, wood chips, and branches for trellis or biochar for free. That's a great help. So i started my little balcony compost with the rotting beech leafs. It works pretty fast to break the scraps down. Regards from Germany

[@dwaynewladyka577]

This was an awesome tutorial on mulch. Cheers, Scott!

[@lindalagarce8996]

So true! I’ve done this for years in my garden and even building up my lawn as the rain washes away some of the top soil. I have been persecuted for not burning them! Lol but my fight to use them for mulch continues! Great job, love your channel! Hugs and love from Texas!

[@highlandscommunityclub1160]

I so appreciate the videos on good, FREE resources for the garden!! Thanks a bunch!

[@helenperalta3555]

Thank you for this great information Gardener Scott. Being a budget gardener I find this so helpful and will tap into the resources you mentioned. Thank you

[@zh3445]

Thanks for the tip (myth) on the pine needles.

[@sherrymurphy-kleine4592]

Thank you, Scott! I also had always heard that pine needles were too acidic for the garden. Glad to know differently!

[@emac1177]

Straw killed 1/3 of my garden beds and containers this spring. My plants under hay showed obvious signs of the terrible pesticide that is being used commonly on hay farms in my state. Be careful when buying or using hay or straw. Wish I had seen the warnings before I went hay crazy!

[@FloridaGirl-]

Hey Gardener Scott! 👋 Leaves are awesome! BLACK GOLD! Can you believe its already end of November? I’ve already been out raking the slash pine needles in vacant streets around where I live! I LOVE pine needles too. So got my big garden/shrub beds all remulched and around trees. Love the stuff! People go by slowly and am sure wonder. 🤔 Why is that lady raking the pine needles off the street. I make BIG piles and bag them in 50 gal bags. Leaves, pine needles, woodchips. Next stop. Go collecting manure again to let set and age some before summer. Thanks for your vids! They are always GREAT! 👍

[@heidiclark6612]

Great video! I bought 8 bales of organic straw when I found some at an organic nursery in a nearby town. I did not realize how large the bales were. I will have straw for lots of seasons. My young trees are now giving me some leaves.I am not going to use herbicides on my lawn next year and pull weeds instead of spraying so I can use the grass clippings in my garden.

[@bun4bun]

That reminds me I need to get my leaves up onto my beds. its getting pretty cold now. To be honest i should have done it last month. Shame on me 😀

[@wormweirdo340]

Excellent advice! We just picked up several loads of leaves, pumpkin and straw bales recently on neighborhood garbage nights.

[@CharliePFoogo]

Very informational. Thanks for posting!

[@carolleimbach6407]

All great reasons, but here in western Oregon, it is a good slug cover, so they stay warm and cozy while they eat my plants. I still do it but those pesky slugs drive me crazy.😊

[@Gonesquirrley]

Chip drop is also available where I live in Ontario Canada

[@Dreamzz101]

thank you so much for the tips and for the link to the free chips .. this is going to help me so much , I struggle so much with the cost of gardening .. and if I can get free wood chips that would help so much.. I do mulch my leaves every yr and add to my gardens but I really can use wood chips a lot.. thank you again

[@tranthiduyen615]

Xin chào anh,anh trồng vườn rau thật đẹp tuyệt vời quá

[@ecologytoday]

"Hello, you grow a very beautiful vegetable garden."

[@lastchancemonicam3948]

Thank you for the video G.S. I have a simple question. Which worms will eat citrus? I know there are worms that live in climates that have a lot of citrus, but all my research online just talks about, "Citrus is poisonous to worms," "Citrus kills red wigglers." My response is, "Then I won't get red wigglers, but what should I get?"

[@GardenerScott]

Most worms will eat decomposing citrus in soil. It's not poisonous but the acidity can disrupt a closed system like a worm bin with red wrigglers and they'll avoid the citrus. It will have the same affect on other worms too.

[@wormweirdo340]

Hi Monica, citrus is fine to feed to worms, but like all things - in moderation. Try sprinkling a limestone, oyster shell amendment or finely ground eggshells to bring the acidity down if you have concerns. Many commercial citrus fruit is sprayed with an anti-fungal as well… so take that under consideration… The “citrus and worms” rule is mainly a myth.

[@grandmasfarmlife]

I signed on for free mulch. We'll see...

[@tmorrison5965]

Any update? Saw the disclaimer that 20 yards could show up and got cold feet...

[@grandmasfarmlife]

@@tmorrison5965 nothing. I think its bogus....

[@tmorrison5965]

Any ideas on mulching in gardens with frequent strong winds? Everything would blow away!

[@GardenerScott]

I find a blend of mulches helps. In my beds, straw, grass, and leaves mixed together have stayed in place with 50mph while they blew away or shifted when used alone.

[@jamesalexbarnes1116]

I leaf munched all my overwintering crops (Leeks, radishes, broad beans, cover crops etc.) with shredded leaves. The drawback has been attracting rodent pests which have been digging up and ruining my plants. Have used deterrents like spraying smells they're not supposed to likes, but it merely annoyed them, if anything. Have now had to resort to chemical warfare. Leaves are great for soil, but not for the plants when they attract mice.

[@milkweed7678]

Great video as always. Is leaf mulch or when composted the best single thing there is to add to soil that's organic? I know the NPK isn't real high but with all the other 10 or 12 nutrients combined. Looks to me it's the best single thing there is. Thanks!!

[@GardenerScott]

Leaf mulch is one of the best things to add to soil, but it's just part of the process. Leaves add minerals that compost doesn't and is primarily a food for fungi. Other organic matter like compost is important for other nutrients and is primarily food for bacteria. A balance of the two types is best for soil.

[@MichaelJosephJr934]

Hey Scot great video. Question regarding the fruit tree you showed with 6 inches of mulch. Can I just add a bit of plastic tubing at the base to prevent the mulch from touching the bark? It looks like you may have done that as well. Also can you trust the mulch coming from these outfits?

[@GardenerScott]

The primary reason I have the plastic wrap is to prevent freeze-thaw damage to the trunk, but it can also be used as a barrier to keep the mulch from the bark. That can be useful for areas with pests like mice and voles that might eat the bark. It is useful to ask the outfit about the source of the mulch, but they don't always know. That is a risk to take into account.

[@stormhawk31]

Hi Scott! Any tips for growing wheat and barley?

[@GardenerScott]

I haven't grown either in large amounts. As with most plants, choose a variety suitable for your region, provide a loose, well-drained soil, and keep it evenly moist. They are heavy nitrogen feeders.

[@stormhawk31]

@@GardenerScott So throwing some green grass clippings into their beds would be pretty helpful then, right? Thank you again. You're awesome!

[@GardenerScott]

Yes, that can be a good mulch. Thanks!

[@philiswarnix]

What about termites? We live in the country and they are common here

[@GardenerScott]

It depends on the type of termite. Some are attracted to the wood chips.

[@lukealexander4512]

Would aspen wood chips work as a mulch? Was looking at ChipDrop, but I am being cautious since we have some cedars and that would inhibit the growth of wine cap mushrooms in my beds.

[@GardenerScott]

They will. You can choose other areas to use the mulch you get.

[@jeffreyheuser9503]

Scot: Another informative video! Still have your Monday 0900 chats? Haven't attended yet but sounds great! Are you receiving emails? I don't know if my inquiry went thru to you! Thank You-Jeff from COS.

[@GardenerScott]

Thanks. I am still doing my Monday shows.

[@danielshuflin9095]

What kind of wood chips are not recommended for mulching? I am a wood turner and I have been throwing all my chips away.

[@GardenerScott]

You can use just about any chip you have. There are concerns about some trees like Black Walnut and Eucalyptus, but by the time the wood is dried for turning, the chemicals that are potentially harmful to plants have dissipated.

[@danielshuflin9095]

Thanks