Using nature to build healthy, chemical-free, weed-free, low-water soil for free and easy.
If you literally hate gardening but love to eat, a native plant yard is for you. And the secret to a work free yard is healthy soil.
The amount of work, water, fertilizers, and chemicals your yard requires to grow depends on your soil.
For example, bare dirt is terrible. Bare dirt attracts invasive plant species, loses nutrients in the sunlight, is vulnerable to erosion, and loses tons of water through evaporation.
This means bare dirt requires more water, fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides to grow healthy-looking plants because it has none of the natural benefits of forest dirt.
On the other hand, forest dirt is soil and roots covered by debris, native plants, moss, and ground covers. Healthy soil is drought-resistant, meaning your plants need less water; weed resistant, which means no herbicides; attracts beneficial insects, so no herbicides; and rich in nutrients, which means no fertilizers or amendments.
You can create rich, healthy, nutrient-rich soil for free using yard debris, grass
cuttings, seedless weeds, leaves, and a good old-fashioned chip drop. Yard debris, like grass clippings, leaves, branches, and other organic materials, can contribute valuable nutrients to the soil and increase microbial activity.
If you prefer a tidier look to your yard, you can spread the debris, leaves, or grass clippings and then cover them with a thick layer of wood chips.
Here are some tips on how to use yard debris to increase soil health, including how much money and effort it's going to take:
Composting (free/very low effort): Instead of consolidating your yard debris into one giant pile, spread them over the bare dirt or create multiple small piles of yard debris compost throughout your yard and leave them to break down into nutrient-rich compost. Beware of adding food scraps straight onto the dirt; food may attract rats or other nighttime buddies like raccoons.
Combining green materials (such as fresh grass clippings) and brown materials (such as dried leaves or small branches) along with larger pieces of wood provides your plants with both short- and long-term nutrients and creates a bug habitat at the same time!
Chop-and-Drop (free/very low effort): For plants like herbs or perennial wildflowers, use the chop-and-drop method by cutting back excess growth and leaving the cut material on the soil surface. This adds organic matter to the soil as the plant material decomposes.
This is a great way to leave some bare soil around stems in a native flower patch for our ground dwelling bees!
Lawn Clippings (free/very low effort): If you absolutely insist on having a lawn, the least you can do is Leave grass clippings on the lawn after mowing. This returns nutrients to the soil and acts as a natural fertilizer.
Woody Debris (free/some effort): Use small branches and woody debris to build bug snugs. A bug snug is just a cute pile of leaves that bugs can live in! Larger logs can be planted and placed in a shaded area as a nurse log.
And arguably the easiest way to increase your soil health with literally no effort:
Leave the Leaves: Leaving leaves on the ground, rather than raking and removing them, can benefit your lawn, garden, and the overall ecosystem.
Here are just a few:
Natural Mulch: Leaves act as natural mulch, covering the soil and helping to retain moisture. Leaves can reduce water evaporation from the soil surface, keeping the ground consistently moist.
Nutrient Recycling: When leaves decompose, they release valuable nutrients back into the soil. This natural recycling process enriches the soil with organic matter, promoting a healthier and more fertile plant environment.
Soil Structure Improvement: Decomposing leaves contributes to the formation of humus, which improves soil structure. Humus enhances soil aeration, water retention, and nutrient availability.
Microbial Activity: Leaves provide habitat and food for a diverse community of microorganisms in the soil. Microbes break down the leaves, initiating the decomposition process and releasing nutrients for the plants.
Habitat for Beneficial Insects: Fallen leaves create a habitat for beneficial insects, such as beetles, spiders, and ground-dwelling insects. These insects contribute to natural pest control by preying on harmful pests.
Protecting Soil from Erosion: Leaf litter helps protect the soil surface from erosion caused by wind and water. The layer of leaves acts as a barrier, preventing soil particles from being washed away during heavy rains.
Wildlife Habitat: Leaf litter is a habitat for small animals, including insects, worms, and amphibians. This contributes to biodiversity and supports a healthy ecosystem.
Cost Savings: Leaving leaves on the ground eliminates the need for expensive lawn care practices such as raking, bagging, and disposing of leaves. It is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach to maintaining your outdoor spaces.
Time-Saving: Allowing leaves to remain on the ground requires less time and effort than raking and bagging. It simplifies yard maintenance and allows you to enjoy your outdoor space more.
Use the seasons to your advantage.
The natural changes of the seasons create conditions that make specific tasks more manageable and way less work. Allowing natural processes to occur in your yard throughout the year can create soil health with very little effort on your part.
Winter
Plant as many native plants as possible in the new soil area. A rule of thumb is one plant per foot for new growth areas.
-then-
Order a chip drop unless you have a tiny yard. Then, this is the one place you have to buy cedar wood chips. Chip drop leaves around 10 yards of material, so just be aware.
DO: Request logs if you want enormous logs.
DO NOT: Request logs if you do not want huge logs.
Cover the whole soup in wood chips. This area is now off-limits to everyone. It has been sealed in, and once the process starts, you can't disrupt it. No touching!
These layers will fertilize plants and protect their roots throughout the winter. A lot of root growth happens in the wither, so happy roots; bug bushes, you know.
Once this process is done, you don't need to repeat it, let the wood chops decompose and the natural process of the plants will take over.
Spring
Make sure all of the weeds, invasive species, and grass are gone. One way to kill grass and weeds without disrupting soil is to pour boiling water on them. Then, put more wood chips on it. If there are a million billion tiny ones, hoe them down and add more wood chips. But the harder you go after it this spring, the easier it will be.
Seed open areas. If there is even one inch of exposed soil, COVER IT UP! Use native plant, grass, and flower seeds in leftover spaces. Exposed soil is susceptible to the corruption of evil. So, if you cover it up, you're creating bait for wildlife and keeping weeds from sprouting.
Summer
During the summer, use all your weeds without seeds, yard debris, and grass clippings to cover the bare soil in garden beds; this will inhibit more weed growth, protect the soil, and add nutrients as it breaks down. It also saves you the time and
effort of gathering up all of your weed piles and composting or carting them
away to the dump.
When you mow your lawn, trim your bushes, and blow all your yard debris, use it for free fertilizer and leave it on the sad dirt instead of cleaning it up and hauling it away.
One way to keep things looking tidier is to use a small wood chipper to chip up the yard debris before you spread it; otherwise, throw it out there and accept it.
The idea is to put as much green biomass on the soil as possible throughout the summer. This is the first step to good forest soil; it starts by layering decomposing material on top of the dirt, mimicking the process of sticks, leaves, and other debris left to rot on the forest floor.
Fall
Leave the leaves on the beds. Not only will this make your beds look a little more tidy, but it's an essential part of the process. The thicker the layer, the better.
Do a deep weed before the plant has time to go to seed. A lot of fresh hell is unleashed when it finally rains after a hot summer. All of the little weed seeds get everywhere, and they sprout. It is super important to eradicate all foreign invaders in the fall; it will greatly impact the number of weeds you have the following spring.
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