‘Get rid of your green waste bin and let leaves rot into the soil,’ says garden expert

RHS Wisley garden manager says composting at home saves money and creates habitat for hedgehogs and invertebrates

Get rid of your green waste bin if you want to make your soil more healthy and save money, a Royal Horticultural Society expert has said.

Sheila Das, a garden manager at the charity's Wisley site, removed her garden waste bin some years ago" in order to recycle nutrients into her garden soil, she told the RHS spring conference. She said: I thought, why am I sending my stuff away? This [the grass cuttings and plant trimmings] is gold dust!"

Start composting. The RHS recommends that where space is limited, consider using a Dalek" bin made from recycled plastic or a HotBin.

Make use of fallen leaves. These can be used as leaf mould which is a useful mulch, soil improver, and potting compost ingredient. Collect fallen leaves from lawns and paths in autumn, place them in a jute leaf sack, old compost bag or bin bag, and in about two years you will have a bag of leaf mould, often referred to as black gold". This can be shared with other gardeners around you if you don't have the space to keep it all.

Felled trees and waste wood can be used to make mulch. Many arborists have mobile chippers and will be happy to leave you the wood chips. Woodchippers are also available for hire. Wood chips can be used as a surface for informal paths or as a mulch around established plants.

Matchstick mulching. With hand shears or a hedge trimmer, cut the old stems of grasses or herbaceous perennials into matchstick-length sections and spread them evenly around plants as a layer of mulch.

Use logs to create pathways, borders, seats and create homes for wildlife.