Summer in Texas often means spending more time in our back yard, and one of the best things we can do at the same time can help the environment by recycling some of our waste. Gardening can be a perfect way to do some recycling and help you maintain your yard at the same time. Establishing some garden areas can often help prevent issues such as water standing in places where you don’t want it, and overall can help keep your property value up by providing a healthy, green lawn – even with the clay soil and hot summers that we experience in the Dallas/Fort Worth area!
Here are some ways that you can use what otherwise may be considered waste around your home to help build a more beautiful backyard:
Composting
Composting is a great way to stop food waste from going to a landfill, and is great to use to enrich your soil, especially if you do any type of gardening and are looking for more fertile soil.
All of your fruit and vegetable scraps (no dairy or meat) can be used for compost. Aim for a mix of 50% green matter (fruit and vegetable) and 50% brown (hay, straw or leaves).
There are many options on equipment that can help you make compost, but the four key ingredients are nitrogen, carbon, air and water. Add a spot to store the compost heap, and a shovel or other way to regularly turn over the materials, and you’ll be set.
Mulching
While most news is digital nowadays, some people still get newspapers – and we all tend to receive junk mail. Like all paper, it is recyclable, but another easy use is in to recycle it in your garden. Newspaper is particularly friendly to your garden as mulch, or as a weed deterrent by laying it flat on the ground around the base of your plants.
Fertilizing
Are you a regular coffee drinker? Your used coffee grounds are perfect for adding some nutrients to your soil.
For best results, spread them out well and mix them a bit with the topsoil so that they don’t block air from reaching the soil or get so thick that they gather mold. Mixing them well is key, since they can be too acidic to have in large quantities for many plants.
Coffee grounds contain nitrogen, potassium, iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and chromium – all which help provide these minerals back into your soil. They may also help absorb heavy metals in the soil, and tend to attract worms which are also beneficial to your garden,
Upcycling
If you’re like most people, you probably have a ton of random things around the house that you no longer need or use. But no need to toss those items into a landfill! All you need to do is head over to Pinterest to grab a ton of ideas on ways to use old materials for planters and other decoration in your garden.
Old tires, chairs, wagons, teacups and much more can generate some crafty inspiration and create unique items for your backyard and garden.
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