Leave Those Leaves!

You can do a lot more with fall’s leaves than just play in them!

This fall, don’t send all your leaves away with the city leaf truck! There are vital nutrients in them that you can return to the soil to feed your lawn, vegetables and other plants, saving you money on fertilizers and soil amendments and keeping your plants happy down to the roots. Think of it as nature giving you piles of free fertilizer, mulch, and soil amendment.

All you have to do is help start the breakdown process get started by shredding your leaves. You can shred leaves by going over them a few passes with a lawn mower, or by placing them in an empty trash can and shredding them inside the can with a weed eater (push the weed eater to the bottom of the can before you start it up, and wear safety glasses!)

Here’s how to use those chopped leaves around the garden:

Left on the lawn to add vital nitrogen and other micronutrients.

Leaves spent the entire growing season collecting nutrients from the soil to build leaves, and a lot of nutrients are still present when they fall. Recapture some of those natural nutrients and leave them on the lawn to feed and enrich the soil.

When leaves are chopped finely enough to settle into the grass, spread on your lawn. You should be able to see grass clearly among the leaves (no big clumps please). Leaves will continue to break down throughout the winter. Spreading chopped leaves benefits beneficial soil bacteria and earthworms (nature's aerators!)

Note that you must shred your leaves to use them as nutrients for your lawn. Leaving piles of whole leaves blocks sunlight and will kill your grass.

Mulch for vegetable gardens or natural areas.

The same shredding technique also gives you a great mulch and soil amendment. Mulch thickly over your vegetable garden to reduce weed seeds, retain moisture and curb erosion, or till into the soil to improve soil texture, water holding ability and nutrient levels. Actually, you probably have enough leaves to do both!

While leaf mulch in landscape beds is not as formal in appearance as pine needles or bark mulches, it works well in natural areas like woodland gardens or lawn-to-woods transition areas.

Start a new planting bed for next spring.

Planning a new vegetable or flower garden next spring? Use your leaves to create a new garden bed “lasagna style”. This works both in a raised bed, or a mounded bed-no need to kill or remove the grass!

Begin by laying cardboard or dampened newspapers in your selected area, overlapping slightly so there are no gaps. Follow with a “green” layer of lawn clippings, vegetable scraps, peat moss, manure, or grass clippings (or a mix) a few inches deep. Add a layer of “brown”: shredded leaves, shredded newspaper, pine needles, or straw (or a mix). Repeat layers until your lasagna is 1 to 2 feet deep. Top with a layer of compost or manure. By spring it will have settled somewhat you will have a rich, nutritious soil to plant flowers, herbs or vegetables in.

Start a compost pile.  

Not planning a new garden? A similar layering technique in a bin or a pile will create rich compost to use in existing garden beds. Sprinkle some soil and a bit of organic fertilizer (if you have it) between the layers to add microbe, bacteria and nitrogen that will aid in the composting process. Turning your compost and keeping it moist will accelerate the process, as will making sure all your additions are chopped. Seventy-five percent “brown” to twenty-five percent “green” is a good ratio, but ratios a little off of that work too. (more on composting ratios) Depending on conditions, in about a year you will have rich, dark compost to add to your garden.