00:00Five fantastic no-cost ways to improve your precious soil naturally. This is Kim Stoddart,
00:07an award-winning environmental journalist from the UK, here with you for gardening know-how.
00:13I like to refer to mulch materials as magic because they really, really are. Firstly,
00:21many of these materials are no-cost and you can easily source them from around your garden,
00:27your homestead and also potentially from your local community. They will improve the quality
00:34of the soil, they will provide slow-release food, they will help to provide protection for your soil,
00:42your garden, your plants over winter and they will also help to feed the fantastic microorganisms
00:48that live in your soil that help provide extra resilience also. So there are many ways to go
00:55about it and it's something to get incredibly, incredibly excited about. Also know that by
01:01mulching your garden you are further helping to boost biodiversity, you'll provide attractive
01:08habitats for many different creatures, wildlife, you will also help to keep potentially carbon in the
01:15ground and you are potentially also using waste materials and you're turning them into a fantastic
01:23resource that can be used in your garden. So seriously, what's not to like? So I'm going
01:29to share with you today my favourite five no-cost soil improvers. First of all, number one, we have
01:36leaves which have the potential to turn into leaf mould which is one of the best soil improvers for the
01:43garden.
01:43So come the fall, if you have trees nearby in your garden in the community,
01:49they will provide an ample supply of this amazing free material. Now with the leaves there's a few
01:57different ways that you can work with them. To make leaf mould you can either create a dedicated bin
02:04that actually contains the leaves and after a couple of years they will break down to provide what we have
02:12here which is actually leaf mould. Or what you can do is if you have the the lovely leaves you
02:18can use
02:19them in and around your garden in corners out of the way to make impromptu more free spirited piles
02:26which will eventually break down. Just do so in a place you don't think the leaves are going to blow
02:32all over the garden. Maybe apply some some water over the top if it's not due to rain but this
02:39will also
02:39provide a fantastic habitat for loads of insects over winter which can then further help with your
02:45natural pest control efforts for the garden. Lots of beneficial predators such as earwigs and ground
02:52beetles like to hide under leaves and the birds will thank you because there's bound to be lots of
02:58insects in there for them to to rummage through the leaves to find over winter. So that can be another
03:04option alternatively you can also use the leaves directly on your raised beds as a direct mulch
03:13around plants they will not break down over the fall over the winter they will then need to be
03:20removed come the following spring but what they will do is provide some leaf mould down below so they
03:28will produce some leaf mould they will also protect the soil with their their covered layer and further
03:34to that they also help to boost microbial activity and earthworm activity below the ground and it can
03:41look rather attractive to have these spread in and around your plants in existing beds. Then we have
03:48homemade compost lovely lovely homemade compost the one of the best things you can do if you're feeling a
03:56bit stressed if you're feeling you're having a bad day make compost if you've had an argument with a
04:02friend or family member make compost any excuse whatsoever I say make compost because it makes
04:10you feel so incredibly good and you can take so many different waste items that would otherwise
04:16potentially go to landfill and turn them into this amazing free soil improver to use around your garden
04:24so compost can be used directly as a mulch at this time of year also to provide protection and it
04:31works
04:31incredibly well then we have chop and drop which is a permaculture principle which basically means
04:43chop or snip in my case and drop so as you're clearing the the garden in the fall into winter
04:52then it's good to leave some foliage actually on the ground in situ so leaves for example like this
04:59beetroot that you might you see there's a slight nibble here that might otherwise well you could eat it
05:04actually you could just give it a wash and eat it but you might otherwise like to compost something like
05:09this can actually be used directly in a chop and drop scenario so you can just pick off any slightly
05:17nibbled
05:17leaves or foliage that you find to hand and you can spread it on the ground it will eventually break
05:23down again it will provide a useful habitat for wildlife over winter for insects and it will also
05:29slow release and help effectively to feed your soil wouldn't recommend doing this with weeds especially
05:36not if you have any invasive weeds do take them and remove them but if you have weeds that are
05:42considered
05:43not evasive and they're going to stay in situ and they don't have any seed heads then you can also
05:49consider that with the likes of for example nettle leaf you know dock leaf they could actually be
05:56laid down just make sure there are no seed heads then we have wood chip wood chip is an amazing
06:04mulch
06:04material it's another magic mulch material for your garden to improve the soil and to provide protection
06:12wood chip is a material that you can source if you have a wood chipper if you have trees and
06:19you can
06:19make your own also if you happen to know a tree surgeon or can find a tree surgeon in your
06:26local area
06:27often they have a lot of wood chip available for free if you have the space you do need to
06:32have space
06:33in order to keep your wood chip alternatively often electricity companies have wood chip available if
06:40they're going around the area cutting back trees so it can be quite good to source and you can do
06:45so
06:45often online free cycle various other online communities where you can swap and exchange with
06:52neighbours but it is an amazing material to have so with wood chip as with all of the other materials
06:59just
06:59apply a very thin layer you're talking roughly about an inch or so around your plants it is good to
07:06have
07:07some airflow for your plants over winter and but the the wood chip will again lie on the surface of
07:14the
07:14soil and it will slowly break down now with wood chip and also with leaf mould which is one of
07:21the magic
07:22mulch materials that i mentioned earlier they can actually provide 100 free seed compost as well
07:30with with leaf mould it takes a couple of years to break down with wood chip it will take about
07:36three
07:36or four years but there's been loads of tests done in the uk and wood chip actually makes after three
07:42four years makes a brilliant seed compost for free completely peat free all these materials are peat free so
07:49you're actually helping the planet in the process and you're also saving money and you're boosting
07:55resilience with these magic mulches for your garden then finally other free materials that you can source
08:03depending on where you live include materials such as seaweed if you live near a beach seaweed is a
08:09brilliant soil improver you can add it to the compost heap you could chop it wash the salt off and
08:16add it to
08:16the compost heap or you could just add it in around your plants you might want to chop it up
08:22a little
08:22bit so it breaks down more quickly but it's a brilliant material to use so with seaweed just be aware
08:29that there are foraging rules and depending on where you live just do check the foraging rules some of
08:35those will be don't remove seaweed obviously from if it's living plant only pick seaweed that has actually
08:43been washed up and do check first that you have permission in order to do that if you live on
08:48a
08:48homestead or in a rural community then sheep wool is a brilliant material to use it will help to
08:56improve the structure of the soil it can be broken up into compost but also it can be used directly
09:02as
09:02mulch you can use the what's called the sheep dags in the uk which basically means some of the off
09:09cut
09:09parts the dirted parts of the sheep wool work brilliantly and it's supposed to be a really
09:14good repellent for slug as well for slugs so it's another good reason to give it a go further to
09:20those other potential mulch materials include grass clippings they can also be sprinkled thinly around
09:26soil you can also use cardboard also i would use heavier layers of cardboard and water it just remove
09:34staples first and any tape that can actually be applied directly in situ around your plants and
09:41again will encourage earthworm activity potentially create shelter for invertebrates over winter and will
09:50slowly feed and protect the soil as well so it works really well the other material you can use is
09:56if
09:56you've had container plants or plants that you've grown for the year that spent compost is not
10:04wasted that is also a really good free mulch material which you can use so just try and take waste
10:11items
10:11try and take things you have lying around be it be it nibbled leaves be it cardboard from for example
10:19things that you've bought online and turn that into a fantastic material for your garden it feels really
10:25really good and it helps your garden to become more resilient you're helping the planet and you're also
10:31helping your growing efforts for the following year so i recommend using mulch now at this time of year
10:37but also to use mulches during the summer or when there are periods of a heat wave also because you
10:44can water first so the water permeates deep into the um the soil and then you can apply a mulch
10:50on top
10:50to help keep the water locked in this works really well also if you do container growing because with
10:57containers they dry out a lot more quickly they can be more vulnerable to the elements so a mulch over
11:04the top also affords extra protection you don't need to do anything with your mulch other than apply
11:12it on the soil in and around any existing plants you don't certainly don't need to dig it in and
11:18i would
11:18recommend a no-dig system because that helps to protect the the soil web system below below ground it will
11:27help to keep carbon in the soil and it will also help to feed the microorganisms which can actually
11:32help with plant health and vitality that afford extra protection so it really is as simple as taking
11:39your mulch and just spreading it in and around existing plants and borders so all of these different
11:45options that i've outlined are also peat free so they are helping the planet they are helping to preserve
11:52peat bogs which when they have been harvested of their peat can take up to a thousand years to to
11:59repair
11:59and to to grow again so these peat bogs are amazing habitats for a myriad of wildlife and they also
12:08help
12:08to hold carbon in the ground so by looking at these free or no cost low cost options for providing
12:17mulch
12:18materials for your for your garden know also that in the process you are helping to protect the planet
12:24and protect peat bogs so it does feel incredibly good so these are very low cost or indeed no cost
12:33materials that you can use for mulching that will help to feed the soil provide protection over winter
12:41and you're also helping to do your bit for the planet because all of these materials are peat free so
12:48they are helping to keep carbon in the ground you are potentially using waste materials and turning
12:55them into useful materials for your garden so it's a really really great way to build resilience from
13:02the ground up and to feel that you're doing your bit
