Straw that is free from crop and weed seed is an excellent mulch for the vegetable garden and strawberry bed. Suggested materials include wheat, oat, and soybean straw. Urban gardeners can often buy straw at garden centers. Straw may provide a winter habitat for mice and other rodents. Therefore, caution should be exercised when using straw around trees and shrubs.
Leaves are readily available in the fall.
They should be shredded or composted before applied as a mulch. Shredded or partially composted leaves do not mat down as readily as whole leaves, are less likely to blow away in the wind, and decompose more quickly. Shredded or composted leaves are an excellent mulch for vegetable gardens, raspberry plantings, perennial flower beds, and around trees and shrubs. While the leaves of some trees, such as oak, are acid in reaction, they can be safely used in the yard and garden. The small amounts used by home gardeners have little effect on soil pH. Leaves are a poor winter mulch for strawberries and tender herbaceous perennials.