How to Handle Large Amounts of Garden Waste: 7 Tips
By Oscar Collins
Author bio: Oscar Collins is the editor-in-chief at Modded, where he writes about the outdoors.
Creating a garden benefits you and your family. You can grow your own food, get vitamin D, stay mindful, exercise and prevent illness. Whenever you have a garden, you’ll also have garden waste. It’s frustrating when you try to connect with your environment but throw away a lot of organic material. In this article, you’ll go over ways to dispose of large amounts of garden waste so you can choose the right solution for your home.
What Is Garden Waste?
Garden waste is any natural product from your garden that doesn’t contribute to the health and well-being of your plants. It includes:
- Leaves
- Weeds
- Dead flowers
- Foliage
- Twigs
- Sticks
- Branches
This waste gathers throughout a gardening season. Knowing what counts as waste can help you make the best disposal choices for your garden.
How to handle large amounts of garden waste？
1. Brush Shredding and Mulching
You can reutilize large pieces of waste using a shredding device to create mulch, which can help your landscaping. Cover your soil with mulch to keep it moist for longer, saving you water and keeping your plants healthy. It also helps regulate your soil’s temperature, providing consistency among your growing plants. Mulch can help prevent the formation of weeds and keep damaging dust away as well, making it easier for your plants to grow.
2. Grasscycling
If you have natural grass, mowing the lawn is necessary. You can use those scraps to nourish your yard. Use a mulching or rotary mower to create small clippings that decompose back into your yard. The remaining pieces provide moisture and nutrients to the soil, helping your new grass stay strong and providing an overall healthy yard. As long as they’re small, the clippings will quickly decompose into the ground and not cause much inconvenience.
3. Haul it Away
If you have a lot of garden waste, consider getting a trailer to haul it to an appropriate facility. Measure the amount of waste you produce and research what trailer size you need to take it all to a recycling or compost facility in one or two trips. You’ll also need to ensure the trailer you get is compatible with the vehicle you intend to use it with.
4. Compost
One way to eliminate garden waste is to reuse it through composting. You don’t need any specific equipment to compost. With the right combination of carbon and nitrogen materials, you can create a mixture that will fuel your soil in the next growing season. Compost is an eco-friendly solution to the carbon gases released from scraps in landfills.
Whether you use enzymes or worms, you can find several at-home composting tutorials online. Many areas also have compost piles for mass production. If you have more compost than you can use, you can sell it to other local gardeners.
Also read: The ultimate guide to composting.
5. Donate It
Some charities accept garden waste to help local farmers and gardeners through composting and other services. Research charities in your area to discover if they take garden waste. Be sure to ask about any rules or regulations around donating — some charities will only accept organic waste so they can create consistency. If you don’t have a local charity that takes these donations, consider posting on a community forum to see if anyone could use it.
6. Incinerate It
You can burn your garden waste by creating an incinerator. With a few simple steps, you can create a safe location for burning whatever waste your gardening produces. Fire up shrubs, weeds and other greenery in your incinerator until ashes are left. You can then use the ashes for composting.
You don’t have to burn your branches and wood chips in the incinerator — you might use them instead for firewood or in a grill or barbecue. Ensure you give your waste time to dry out before you burn it since that will ensure an easy burn. Check your local regulations for times to legally and safely burn your waste.
7. Utilize Waste Management
Life isn’t perfect and you might not always be able to compost or correctly recycle your garden waste. While it’s not the best solution for the environment, going through waste management services is an easy way to reduce waste so you can move forward with your gardening plans. You can remove some of the waste through your community disposal services when push comes to shove. Place a waste bin alongside your garbage and recycling bins for the week’s pickup.
Managing Garden Waste
Gardens can produce a lot of organic waste you can use for other purposes, including making your future gardens even healthier. Evaluating each option allows you to experiment and determine what works best for you.
