Duane McCreanor, Author at MegaBin

Spring in Pretoria means warmer days, new growth and, for many homeowners, plenty of work to get the garden looking its best again.

To make the job easier, our spring garden checklist for Pretoria homeowners covers the basics — from mowing and weeding to pruning, clearing and managing the garden refuse that comes with a spring clean-up.

Here’s our spring garden refuse checklist for Pretoria homeowners.

1. Mow and edge the lawn

Start by giving the lawn a tidy-up. Mowing and edging can immediately make the garden look neater and give you a clearer picture of which other areas need attention.

However, you don’t necessarily need to remove every grass clipping. You can sometimes leave fine, dry clippings on the lawn. Alternatively, suitable grass clippings can be composted or used appropriately as mulch. The RHS guide to dealing with garden waste provides useful guidance on reusing grass clippings and other plant material.

Checklist:

☐ Mow the lawn
☐ Tidy the edges
☐ Collect excess grass cuttings where necessary

2. Pull those weeds

Spring growth isn’t limited to the plants you want.

Removing unwanted weeds gives you an opportunity to tidy beds and identify areas that might need mulch or additional planting.

If you’re composting at home, however, don’t simply throw every weed onto your compost heap. Some weeds, particularly those carrying seeds or persistent roots, may survive normal home composting conditions. The RHS guide to weeding garden beds explains this in more detail.

Checklist:

☐ Weed flower beds
☐ Check around paving and pathways
☐ Collect weeds as you work

3. Prune and trim where needed

Spring is a good opportunity to inspect shrubs and other plants for dead, damaged or unwanted growth, although the correct pruning time depends on the particular plant.

Pruning can help remove dead or unsightly growth, control size and improve the shape of appropriate plants. For plant-specific advice, see the RHS beginner’s guide to pruning.

After pruning, cut larger pieces into manageable sections to make them easier to handle.

Checklist:

☐ Check plants before pruning
☐ Remove appropriate dead or unwanted growth
☐ Trim overgrown hedges where needed
☐ Cut larger trimmings into manageable pieces

4. Clear fallen leaves and loose garden debris

Leaves and other plant material tend to accumulate beneath shrubs, along pathways and in corners of the garden.

However, you don’t necessarily need to throw all of it away. Fallen leaves, grass clippings and many garden trimmings can be useful ingredients for composting.The EPA’s guide to composting at home explains how materials such as leaves, grass clippings and plant trimmings can be turned into compost.

Therefore, before treating everything as waste, consider whether you could reuse some suitable plant material in your garden.

Checklist:

☐ Clear paths and high-traffic areas
☐ Gather excess leaves and plant material
☐ Set aside suitable material if you compost at home

5. Gather and separate your garden refuse

Once the cutting, mowing and pruning is finished, gather together the material you actually want removed.

Keeping garden refuse separate from general household rubbish also makes it much easier to manage.

Typical garden material generated during a clean-up can include:

Grass cuttings
Leaves and weeds
Flowers and plant material
Hedge trimmings
Small branches

For example, you can compost suitable plant material such as leaves, grass and garden trimmings at home. The RHS garden waste guide has more information on which garden materials can be reused or composted.

Of course, anything you don’t want to compost or reuse still needs somewhere to go.

6. Fill your MegaBin

For MegaBin customers, managing the remaining garden refuse is simple: put accepted garden refuse into your MegaBin for your normal weekly collection.

That means the grass cuttings, leaves, weeds, flowers, hedge trimmings and small branches generated while tidying the garden don’t need to become a growing pile in the corner of the property.

If your garden produces a little extra, you can also place up to two additional black bags containing accepted garden refuse alongside or near your drum for the standard weekly collection. If you have more than two additional bags, contact the MegaBin office beforehand.

For a particularly large spring clean-up, a once-off garden refuse removal may be more appropriate than trying to fit everything into the normal weekly collection.

You can find out more about MegaBin and our garden refuse services on the MegaBin website.

Your spring garden checklist at a glance

Before calling the spring clean-up finished:

✓ Mow & edge

✓ Pull weeds

✓ Prune & trim appropriately

✓ Clear fallen leaves

✓ Gather garden refuse

✓ Reuse or compost suitable material

✓ Fill your MegaBin with the accepted garden refuse you want removed

Once you’ve worked through the list, you can get back to enjoying your garden.

Garden sorted. Refuse sorted.

www.megabin.co.za

Sources & further reading

For readers interested in the gardening guidance behind this checklist:

Royal Horticultural Society — How to Deal with Garden Waste — practical advice on grass clippings, leaves, pruning material, composting and garden waste.

Royal Horticultural Society — Getting Started in Pruning — guidance on why, when and how plants may need pruning.

Royal Horticultural Society — How to Weed a Bed Efficiently — practical weeding advice, including considerations when composting weeds.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Composting at Home — guidance on composting leaves, grass clippings and garden trimmings at home.

Garden soil might look fairly ordinary, but beneath the surface is an extraordinary living ecosystem.

A single teaspoon of healthy garden soil can contain up to a billion bacteria, alongside many other microorganisms. These tiny organisms form part of a complex community that helps keep soil functioning and supports the plants growing above it.

What is living in your garden soil?

Healthy garden soil isn’t simply dirt. It can be home to enormous communities of bacteria, fungi and other microscopic organisms, alongside larger soil inhabitants such as earthworms and insects.

Together, these organisms form part of what is often called the soil food web.

They interact with plant roots, organic matter and one another, helping drive many of the natural processes that keep soil functioning. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations — Soil Biodiversity provides more information about the diversity and importance of organisms found in soil.

Why are garden soil microorganisms important?

One of their most important jobs is helping to break down organic material.

As leaves, roots and other plant material naturally decompose, soil organisms help break that material down and recycle nutrients through the soil. Some microorganisms also form relationships with plant roots, while the wider soil ecosystem contributes to soil structure and nutrient cycling.

The FAO — Biological Properties of Soil explains the role of bacteria, fungi, earthworms and other organisms in these processes.

In other words, a healthy garden isn’t only about what you’re growing above the ground. Healthy soil matters too.

5 simple ways to look after your garden soil

You don’t need to see these microscopic garden residents to give them a better environment.

A few sensible gardening habits can help:

Add suitable compost or organic matter. Organic matter can help improve soil structure, water retention and nutrient availability. The Royal Horticultural Society — Organic Matter Guide provides practical guidance on using organic matter in the garden.
Avoid unnecessarily compacting or disturbing healthy soil. Maintaining good soil structure allows space for air and water to move through the soil.
Grow a variety of plants where practical. Different plants contribute to the garden ecosystem in different ways.
Avoid overwatering and prolonged waterlogging. Waterlogged soil contains less oxygen, which can negatively affect roots and soil life. See the RHS guide to waterlogging and flooding.
Let appropriate organic material return to the soil. Not every fallen leaf needs to be treated as waste. Suitable organic material can sometimes be composted or used within the garden.

The exact needs will naturally depend on your plants and the soil conditions in your garden.

What should stay in your garden — and what should go?

Spring in South Africa often means renewed growth — and with that comes mowing, pruning, trimming and general garden maintenance.

Some organic material can be useful in the garden, but you’re still likely to end up with excess grass cuttings, leaves, weeds, hedge trimmings and branches that need to go somewhere.

That’s where regular garden refuse removal comes in.

MegaBin provides a simple way to manage the accepted garden refuse you don’t want to keep: put it into your MegaBin and we’ll empty it as part of your weekly collection.

A healthier garden starts beneath your feet

Take a moment to think about what’s happening underneath your feet.

That ordinary-looking patch of soil is home to an enormous community of living organisms, quietly contributing to the ecosystem that helps your garden grow.

There’s a whole world beneath your garden.

Garden Refuse Made Simple.