Besides apple cider, trick-or-treating, and crisp, cool weather, autumn guarantees one thing: leaves, and lots of them. Instead of going through all the work to gather, bag, and ship away your leaves, however, make them do some work for you by turning them into a valuable mulch for your garden. Leaf removal not only costs you money, or higher taxes, but takes up valuable landfill space. In addition, recycling leaves can save you money on expensive fertilizers that are no more effective. It's 100% free, all-natural, and effective.
Mulch is spread on top of gardens to protect, insulate, and fortify the soil. Usually made of bark, leaves, or compost, the decaying organic material of mulch will block the sun, keep soil moist, and prevent erosion and weed growth.
What To Do
There are many ways to use fallen leaves in your garden, but here's a basic method:
-
Rake and gather the fallen leaves in your lawn.
-
Shred them with a leaf shredder or a lawn mower. If you don't own a shredder or mower, you can usually rent one nearby.
-
Spread the leaves at the base of trees or shrubs, in a 2-3 inch layer on top of a flower garden, or work them into soil before planting to enrich the mixture.
Alternatively, turn the shredded leaves into rich compost by allowing them to decompose over the winter months. Throw in grass clippings and food scraps as well. By the time spring rolls around, that stuff will be good as gold for your garden.
