[Judy Pino] It still feel like summer in many parts of the county, but -- but what? [Jean Schwab] Believe it or not… [Judy Pino] Autumn -- [Jean Schwab] Is right around the corner. [Judy Pino] That's right, and many autumn leaves may be swirling around you. Who has time for that? What are you going to do with all those leaves? And how can you prepare your garden for the next spring? Hi, I'm Judy Pino, and welcome to EPA's Green Scene, a series of environmental podcasts that you can take with you. Today we are at the U.S. Botanic Garden in the shadow of our nation's capital. The Botanic Garden is currently showcasing a display called "One Planet, Ours!" which demonstrates how environmentally sustainable practices in landscaping and gardening can contribute to a healthy environment in the future. EPA's contribution to the exhibit demonstrates ways that each of us can reduce our environmental impact in our lawns and gardens. And with me today is Jean Schwab of EPA's GreenScapes program. Welcome Jean, thanks for being with us. [Jean Schwab] Thanks, Judy, nice to be here. [Judy Pino] Well, tell me first of all, the GreenScapes program. How can you have an environmentally friendly lawn? [Jean Schwab] Well, that's what GreenScapes is all about. GreenScapes is working with nature instead of against it. So it's simple practices and use of products that make your yard easier to care for, cheaper to maintain, and healthier for your children, your pets, and the environment. [Judy Pino] Now, of course, we're at the U.S. Botanic Garden, and we're surrounded by just beautiful plants. A wonderful job they do here, of course. But you guys can get the same and help the environment at the same time. How can we do that? Let's go through some of the steps. [Jean Schwab] Okay, so now with fall right around the corner, some people are already starting to get a little sprinkling of autumn leaves on their lawn. [Judy Pino] That's right. [Jean Schwab] So one of the things you can do just right off the bat is, if you have just a light sprinkling of leaves like this, don't bother to rake them up or bag them or anything. Take your mulching mower and go right over them and just mulch the grass and leaves right back into the soil, add in nutrients, and you don't have to spend any time or effort to bag up and throw away leaves. [Judy Pino] So nature gives you this free mulch. [Jean Schwab] Exactly. [Judy Pino] And how do we put it on our soil? [Jean Schwab] Well, if you have a lot of leaves, you're going to want to get those up, because otherwise it can suffocate the grass. So you can do the old fashioned way and rake it up, or you can use the lawn vacuums that they've got or a mulching mower. And the great thing about the lawnmower or the lawn vac is it'll tear the leaves up and shred it, and that's what you want. So if you're raking, you'll still need to find a way to cut up or shred up the leaves so that you can use them as mulch. And all you you'll do -- [Judy Pino] Okay. [Jean Schwab] -- as soon as you just take it off of your vacuum or off of the lawnmower, just dump it right into your flowerbeds, spread it out, and there, you're all mulched for the fall and winter, you don't have anything to throw away, and you just saved yourself a bunch of money by not having to go out and buy mulch. [Judy Pino] Now what if I have some pests in my garden? When is it a good time to fertilize? [Jean Schwab] Fertilize -- you're not -- this is actually the time to fertilize in most parts of the country, in the cold weather and up. But only fertilize if you need it. And the way you know you need it is you need to get your soil tested, and you can find test kits at garden shops or your local extension agent. You take some soil samples, you mail it off, and then they'll send back to you what kind of fertilizer and how much you need to put down, if any. In a lot of instances, you might not even need to use fertilizer at all if you do the mulching mower, because you just let all the grass trimmings and all the nutrients that are in the grass return right back to the soil. And what's really great about this is you're going to save money because you're not buying any of the fertilizers or pesticides, and you're not exposing your children or your pets, like Buster here, to any of the chemicals. [Judy Pino] Okay, another way to keep a beautiful lawn in a GreenScapes way is composting. [Jean Schwab] Absolutely, so you've got a bunch of these leaves. You're using them for mulch, or you're also using them to make compost. And the compost going to want to put right into your garden or even top dress, right on top of your turf [Judy Pino] Okay. [Jean Schwab] So, real simple, this is a compost bin. It just makes things a little neater and easier, or you can just pile the stuff up. [Judy Pino] Where can we get one of those? [Jean Schwab] You can buy them at home centers, and there are a lot of municipal governments, communities, that either give these away or sell them at a reduced price to try to encourage people to do backyard composting. [Judy Pino] Okay. [Jean Schwab] So one of the things you're going to do is you just start off -- it's completely empty -- and you just start off and put a base layer of your shredded leaves that you just collected. And the two main ingredients for compost are what's normally called "browns and greens." So the browns are dry, brown material. [Judy Pino] Okay. [Jean Schwab] And then the greens are going to be your green, kind of wetter materials, so that would be your grass clippings that you put in -- [Judy Pino] Or stuff from the kitchen. [Jean Schwab] Stuff from the kitchen. When you're going through and doing your fall maintenance and you have plants that you're cutting back -- let's say this is it, some of your trimmings -- you should cut them up and make them into smaller pieces and just cut them down, because the smaller things are chopped up, the faster they're going to break down. [Judy Pino] Okay. [Jean Schwab] And just throw them right in. Here's some old basil. One of the other great things to put in: coffee filters, along with the filters. [Judy Pino] Oh, wow. [Jean Schwab] We made some guacamole, so we've got the avocados and tomatoes and some lettuce and even peanut shells. Just dump it all right in. And it's kind of like making lasagna, so just think about it in layers. You do the brown and then the wet, the brown and then the wet -- [Judy Pino] Okay, and then you go put another layer -- [Jean Schwab] Another layer -- [Judy Pino] -- of mulch? [Jean Schwab] Here is the leaves I collected with the lawnmower. [Judy Pino] Okay. [Jean Schwab] I put another layer in there, right on top. And you just keep doing that and build it up. You're going to want to make sure it stays moist and you turn it now and then, because that's what helps things to break down. [Judy Pino] How long does it take to get this to turn into soil, compost that we could actually use? [Jean Schwab] Well, if you're one of those really conscientious gardeners and you're really into it, if you keep it moist and turn if frequently a couple times a week, you can have finished compost in as little as three to six months. [Judy Pino] Which is perfect. Just time for spring if we start now. [Jean Schwab] Exactly. [Judy Pino] Okay, let's see what you get when you work on this. [Jean Schwab] This is what finished compost will look like, and you can tell it's done when you can't tell what any of the original material is in it. [Judy Pino] Oh wow, it feels like real soil that you buy at any nursery. [Jean Schwab] But it's better, it's actually just better than soil, because believe it or not, one teaspoon of healthy soil, which is loaded with organic matter, has over four billion living organisms in it. [Judy Pino] Amazing. [Jean Schwab] And it's these living organisms that keep the soil healthy, and in turn, your plants are healthy. And if you have healthy soil, you also have clean air and clean water. [Judy Pino] So soil is alive? [Jean Schwab] Soil is alive. [Judy Pino] Okay, so let's see how you put this in the soil. [Jean Schwab] It's really easy. All you're going to do -- you can just dump some right in and then just turn it. [Judy Pino] Okay, let's do it again. I want to try that. [Jean Schwab] Okay, so just take a shovel full. [Judy Pino] Okay. [Jean Schwab] Dump it right in. [Judy Pino] Dump it -- [Jean Schwab] And then just turn it. [Judy Pino] -- and then you turn it. Because what you want to do is you want to get all these nutrients in the base of the soil? [Jean Schwab] Exactly, because of the organisms in there, it's alive and well, and this is their food. And they'll need this -- and they'll keep breaking it down throughout the year, and then the nutrients that they make will feed your plants. And what's really great about adding compost that most people will recognize right off the bat is this acts like a sponge in the soil, so it's going to hold the water much longer. So the water's going to stay there and be available to your plants. It's going to make your soil and your plants much more resistant to drought, and what's good about that is you won't have to water as much or as frequently. So you just increase the soil organic matter by using a soil amendment like compost, and here we have like a drip irrigation system so you're not having to come out and actually water it. And this'll act like a sponge, keep the water there for a longer amount of time, and you're not spending any time or money watering. [Judy Pino] That's right, which is what we're all looking for. Such a beautiful garden, just so, so easy, really. [Jean Schwab] Mm-hmm, that's the whole idea with GreenScapes. [Judy Pino] Well, what other tips can you give us to get a beautiful garden this spring? [Jean Schwab] Well, now is the time -- fall is also the time to plant any of your shrubs or trees. And that's also when you'll do the fertilizing if you need it, but only if you need it. So if you can think, all this preparation that you're doing, and if you mulch, it's going to keep the plant roots warmer all through the winter and get you a better start off for the spring. [Judy Pino] Fantastic. Well, being surrounded by all these beautiful flowers, it's hard to fathom that one could actually get all these results at home just by using all those tips. [Jean Schwab] It's really easy, and that's what we want people to understand: it's easy, you can save money, and still have a beautiful garden. [Judy Pino] Perfect. Thank you, Jean, for being with us. [Jean Schwab] My pleasure, Judy, thank you. [Judy Pino] All good tips. And for more information and to find all sorts of green gardening tips for fall and all seasons, visit www.epa.gov/greenscapes. And to learn more about this exhibit and other exhibits at the U.S. Botanic Garden, visit www.usbg.gov.