Stop Throwing Away Fall Leaves. Use Them to Improve Your Garden Soil, by The Gardener's Era on YouTube. 8 min 15 s.
- Video length
- 8 min 15 s
- Time to do it
- 1 hour
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 7
What you need
Steps
Rake your leaves into a pile and keep them dry. Skip leaves from diseased trees and black walnut, which can harm beds and seedlings.
Shred the leaves by running a mower over them or passing them through a leaf shredder. Shredded leaves break down faster and mat less.
Spread 2 to 3 inches of shredded leaves as mulch around plants and between rows. Keep the mulch a little away from stems and trunks.
Pile shredded leaves in a wire or pallet bin and keep them damp to make leaf mold. Turn the pile now and then and expect it to take a year or more.
Add leaves to your compost pile in layers with nitrogen-rich scraps like grass clippings or kitchen waste. Too many leaves alone will slow the pile down.
Cover empty beds with a layer of shredded leaves in fall. This protects the soil over winter and feeds it as the leaves rot.
Leave some whole leaf litter in a corner of the garden for overwintering insects and wildlife. Balance this with the leaves you shred for beds.
Tips and common mistakes
Don't till fresh whole leaves straight into a bed, as they can tie up nitrogen and stall seedlings.
Maple leaves break down faster than tough oak leaves, so shred oak leaves finer or give them longer.
Keep the leaf mold pile moist but not soggy, and turn it to speed up breakdown.
Wear gloves when handling leaves, and watch for sharp twigs and hidden debris in the pile.
Questions
How long does leaf mold take to make?
Usually a year or more, depending on leaf type and moisture. Shredding the leaves and turning the pile now and then speeds it up.
Can I put all my leaves in the compost bin?
Leaves are mostly carbon, so mix them with nitrogen-rich material like grass clippings or kitchen scraps. A pile of leaves alone breaks down very slowly.
Which leaves should I keep out of the garden?
Skip diseased leaves and black walnut leaves. Both can cause problems in beds and around young plants.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
