Mulching Your Flower Borders
If your compost is ready to use, it can be spread on the soil between plants to feed and insulate roots, as well as provide food for worms which will help aeration and soil breakdown! If you have not been storing compost so far don’t worry, you can use our Be Green Compost Bin, or alternatively our Carberry Compost maker for a faster process which will feed and insulate roots from the worst of winter frosts. You can clear dead stems and foliage too or leave them until spring to provide habitat for insects.
Making Leaf Mould
Leaf mould is known as the mulch derived from decomposed leaves and is a very useful aid to your garden! Leaf mould can be used to improve the PH of your soil, improve soil structure, and attract worms and beneficial bacteria to the soil.
What you will need:
· A rake
· Compost bin(s)/bin bags
· Watering can
· Shovel (optional)
How To
· Grab a rake and begin to gather all the garden leaves into a pile, ensuring they are tightly compacted in a corner of your garden.
· Using a shovel or just your hands, begin to fill your compost bin or bin bags with leaves.
· Tightly compact the leaves to ensure you have enough decomposed matter, add water from your watering can to speed up the process and form the mulch, and seal well.
· Set your containers aside somewhere suitable and allow to decompose for a year or two.
· Upon completion, you can use your leaf mould for mulch – to hinder weeds and improve soil or as a potting mix – to act as a topsoil and help spur growth of your plants.
Tips
· Use our Carbery Compost Maker to drastically increase the breakdown speed of your leaf mould, shortening the process to as little as six weeks!
· Continue to add the leaf mould to your garden year on year to gradually improve soil PH.
· Start gathering your leaves from early-mid September in order to ensure a good supply for the coming year.
· Using a lawnmower on the high-height setting, begin to mow your leaves a number of times to speed up the decomposition process.
· Use a pair of garden gloves and wrap up well to keep safe and warm!
