Five Ways to Use Fallen Twigs and Branches in Your Yard
Cleaning up your yard after a storm can result in a lot of debris, including fallen sticks and branches. But you don’t have to throw away everything you’ve collected—you can put those sticks and branches to good use right where they came from.
Build a garden trellis
If you have a pile of larger sticks or branches, you can use them to prop up vine plants such as peas, cucumbers or melons. A DIY trellis made from tree branches can make your garden look neater and allow vines to grow. You’ll need several branches 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter and up to 6 feet tall, as well as some sticks to serve as cross supports and some garden twine to tie it all together.
Arrange your garden plants
Even if you don’t need a full trellis for your vines, you can use sticks and branches to support taller plants in your garden. Sturdy poles look more natural than metal ones (and are free). This video shows several ways to support and secure plants of varying heights in your yard using twigs and branches.
You can also weave together sticks and twigs to make a mini DIY wicker as a border for your garden beds or to create a protective canopy .
Support pollinator habitat
Use fallen sticks and branches to create a safe place for beneficial garden visitors to feed or sleep. One option is an “insect refuge “, a pyramidal habitat in which insects can hibernate. This is a great way to repurpose not only sticks, but also other yard materials such as grass clippings and leaves. If your stick collection includes bamboo, reeds, or dried hollow stems from plants like fennel and sunflowers, you can also make your own bee hotel .
Finally, if you have a hummingbird feeder or plants that attract them, use sticks inserted vertically into the ground as snags 10 to 50 feet from the food source.
Build a Hugelkultur garden
The Hugelkultur method, or “mountain garden”, recreates the way plants grow in the forest by building them on top of rotting wood. Sticks and branches provide nutrients and drainage, and you simply pile soil and plants on top. This is a great use for old, dead sticks and branches. Alternatively, if you already have (or want to build) raised containers, you can lay sticks at the base to improve drainage and reduce the amount of soil needed.
Add to your compost
Sticks and branches can be great additions to your compost pile . Be sure to cut large pieces into much smaller pieces—otherwise they will take years to decompose—and consider renting or borrowing a wood chipper to break down anything larger than an inch in diameter. Don’t pile diseased wood and watch the ratio of green to brown (woody materials are brown in color).
You can also use wood chips as mulch around your yard and garden beds. Sticks are also an excellent material for biochar .