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The autumn clean up
The Gardener
|April 2020
Just as April is a month for planting, it is also a month for clearing away garden debris to put it to good use in the future, making your garden ready for winter and keeping it free of overwintering pests.
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Falling leaves
Leave the falling autumn leaves in shrub beds as mulch but take care not to spread the layers of dead leaves too thickly and do not let them heap up around the stems of plants, as this can cause rot. Sweep them up from pathways, pavements and drains, and place them on the compost heap or shred them to make leaf mould in black plastic bags. Shredding the leaves will accelerate the process of breaking them down into a rich humus that can be used when more mulching is needed again in summer.
Get on top of weeds
This story is from the April 2020 edition of The Gardener.
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