On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA April - May 2017 | Page 18

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
M A R C I A TAT E
GWA Members Offer Tips for
Gardening Sustainably
Read what’s trending around our regions
M U LC H A N D R E C YC L E
Peggy Anne Montgomery and husband
Dan Benarcik share a one-acre garden in
Delaware with lots of mature trees and plenty
of wildlife. They have one simple rule: nothing
green or brown ever leaves the property.
Yard waste is recycled on site. Early spring
cleanup includes mulch-mowing leaves and
blowing them back into flowerbeds. Fall leaves
are gathered to make leaf mold.
“When a big tree has to come down, if it’s
worth it, we’ll have it milled to build furniture;
we’ll use some for firewood, chip the rest then
put it back on the beds. A chipper is the best
investment anyone can make,” said Peggy Anne.
Jay White likes the way mulch moderates the
soil temperature of his organic garden, in hu-
mid subtropical Brenham, Texas. “I spend more
money on mulch in my garden than anything
else because it gets so hot here,” he said.
Heavy cardboard purchased from a local
recycling center is topped with spoiled hay
(abundant in his area) to cover paths between
garden beds. Jay buys ground wood chips from
the City of Brenham Mulching Facility. They do
double duty, suppressing weeds and building
healthy soil.
In addition to vegetable crops, Jay and
his wife have spent years cultiva