Pine needles are my prefered as they are slow to break down and slugs dont particularly like them. I had three large spruce trees removed and then chipped up and I used that on a large part of my beds also. Over the past three years, the town street department has dropped off several loads of leaves that theypick up and I have used them also but they're just not as nice as the pine needleas.

Same as Gary. I grow the majority of my hostas under pines, so it's easy.

I kayetwvz5, I myself was going to ask this question. Gary, Don, and popmama I think know that I live in the city Milwaukee. I currently have ground cover, which is lovely, but aggressive and harbors slugs like wood mulch I used. I am considering tearing out the ajuga and also looking for what to use for mulch then. I also have tree leaves that get raked up in the fall. my red maple drops them very late. We barely make the cut off for the city to pick them up. I have wondered about whether leaving them until spring would be good. Rake them then and apply some sort of mulch....soil Pep or other. Wish I had pine needles..... other folks—-what do you use?

I use my homemade compost..we have a wooded lot with a billion leaves..we don't worry about removing every single leaf..leaving a few hasn't been a problem..we chip the leaves and debris that we collect..pile it up..it breaks down..then I use it everywhere..it's a lot of work but it's good for the environment, my soil, my trees, shrubs, all of my plants..I've been doing this for 20 years..and I don't mind the way it looks..

Ahh...that one piece of equipment I regret never buying - a chipper shredder! We used to burn wood all winter and we always have trees coming down from storms. I hand shredded a bunch of bark one summer after it sat over winter. Not for the faint of heart. Holes in my gloves and blisters on my palms! I still keep thinking maybe I should still buy one....

it was my husband's idea..we had quite a bit of debris at our previous house too and he said "you know if I had a chipper.."so we started chipping and composting..eventually he wanted bigger and better..so we sold the first chipper and bought a new one..it's hard work..I don't know of one of my neighbors that chips..my house..we need a chipper don't you think?..

Free mulch is my preferred one, I have no grass and have dogs, so if nothing else I have to heavily mulch spring and winter just to keep my puppies clean lol.

Thankfully we have free much at our village system so I get what they have sometimes it is nice and old with worms too.

Also I have been raiding some stables and get their manure as well. My poor car.