Green Tips From The Community - November 2024

 Let’s build soil!

This time of year gives us a great opportunity to build our soil. If you haven’t picked up your leaves yet, please consider using them. Also, how about woodchips in your yard?
Nature is amazing at building healthy soil if we get out of the way and let it. Healthy soil is rich in nutrients and does a get job managing water.  It helps grow happy plants and creates an ecosystem system within its self.
Here are a few ways you can help nature build your soil….
Leaves - if you still have leaves on the ground, leave them. You can put them under your trees and shrubs, in your home composter, turn them in your garden bed or spread a layer of them on your garden paths and top them with arborist woodchips. These lovely leaves are great at making soil!
Arborist woodchips - woodchips are excellent at building healthy soil. I say arborist woodchips because woodchips you buy at the store generally aren’t great soil builders. Reason… arborist chips come untreated, straight from the tree in a mix of sizes and shapes which makes them breakdown over time. Verses, most of the chips from the store are treated and/or dyed and are all the same size chips and therefore more draining on the landscape than giving of nutrients. You can use arborist chips on paths, in garden beds or in pots. They do a great job improving soil that doesn’t drain well or is difficult to dig in. Give it 6month to a year and you won’t believe the difference. If you have grass that you would like to turn into a planting area or path, lay down a well overlapped layer of cardboard and 2 to 3 inches of arborist woodchips and off you go. It’s all free and you can do it in a day or two. Get your woodchips by contacting your local arborist and ask for a drop or by using getchipdrop.com 
So, next time you think you need to go to the store to buy “healthy” soil, please reconsider building your own soil with nature's help. 
Have fun and thanks for reading,
Kippy Irwin