I like free stuff

It's amazing what you can get for free. We're trying to save money because we're living on one income right now (his, not mine), and we've been trying to come up with alternatives to buying things.

So we take our own trash to the landfill. The landfill is right around the corner (about 15 minutes). It has a recycling station and a place for household trash. Once, we went there and saw a sign that said county residents can get free mulch.

Let me briefly explain about southern soils. They are terrible. Our yard is like a clay brick baked in the sun. We don't have a lawn, we have a collection of weeds that we mow. All the topsoil here has been eroded away unless there were trees in the area. When they built this house (about 5 years ago), they cleared the lot. Hence, all the topsoil is gone. It's like a desert out there.

It's basically a soil that's had all the nutrients sucked out of it by lots of rain and sun.

Anyway, there are a few things you can do about it. One, buy a lot of topsoil and stick it on top of the existing soil. Two, amend the existing soil by adding organic matter and nutrients. We're doing a little of both. The garden bed in the front of the house looks like it had topsoil added to it a few years ago. So we bought a bag of topsoil, dug out some of the clay, and replaced it. It rains a lot here, and then the sun bakes everything, so mulch was essential for adding nutrients and keeping water for our plants.

Soil amendments: manure, compost, lime, etc.

How easy was it for me to get the free mulch? I asked the guys at the 'front desk' of the landfill, and they told me to go ahead and drive on down (despite the fact that the sign says no cars...I always feel like I'm going to get yelled at when I drive past the sign). I followed the signs. The road was paved and passed parts of the landfill that had already been closed off. Basically, they look like a giant grassy hill with pipes for flaring methane stuck out the top. After 2 minutes of driving, I arrived at the brush pile. It was huge, and next to it was a huge pile of mulch- free for the taking!

I don't own a pickup truck, so I put my free mulch into our two Rubbermaid recycling containers. All I had to do was shovel it up, fill the containers, and put them in the car. That's how easy it was! When I got home, I dumped the mulch into the garden bed and spread it around. Granted, it will take several trips to cover everything...but it's FREE!!

Call your local landfill to see if you, too, can get free mulch. Why pay?