Gather and Use Dead Leaves in the Organic Garden

Gardeners who pay for leaf bags and leaf cleanup services are losing money in two ways: by paying for unnecessary goods and services, and by getting rid of a free organic enrichment material for the garden. Once organic gardeners experience the results of the rich nutrients dead leaves can provide in the garden, they may be seeking out their neighbors’ leaf bags at the curb.

Raking Leaves and Leaf Cleanup

Gardeners who dread the chore of raking and leaf cleanup should reevaluate their yard tools. The best rakes are those with steel tines, which capture leaves and twigs easily without the need to apply downward pressure. Steel tines also yield when one encounters rocks or other debris in the yard. Choose a model with at least a 24-inch head to capture more debris with fewer swipes.

A telescopic shrub rake helps gardeners obtain the tidiest results in their yards. These rakes have fewer tines to reach between crevices in the landscape where leaves often gather.

The last essential yard tool to make leaf cleaning easier is a pair of leaf scoops. These plastic claws have straps that attach to a gardener’s hands, allowing him to pick up several times the volume of leaves he could with gloved hands. These scoops also take care of spring duties like spreading compost and mulch.

Mulching with Leaves

Gardeners who use leaves as mulch should shred them with a lawn mower, string trimmer, or leaf shredder first. This prevents the leaves from creating a dense mat that blocks oxygen from the soil. Gardeners can also use a mulching mower to shred leaves directly onto the lawn, where the particles will filter back into the soil, nourishing the organic lawn.

Composting Leaves

Shredded leaves should provide about 2/3 the volume in a compost pile. The rest is comprised of high-nitrogen green matter, like grass clippings and kitchen waste. Gardeners with too many leaves can create a leaf mold pile.

Make Leaf Mold

Leaf mold is an easy way to capture the nutrients found in dead leaves without the bother of balancing or turning a compost pile. Creating a leaf mold pile is also a good way to deal with an excess of dead leaves in the compost pile for gardeners with an abundance of deciduous trees.

Gardeners can pile dead leaves as high as three feet deep in an unused corner of the yard to begin a leaf mold pile. Unlike compost piles, leaf mold piles decompose without generating high temperatures, so it’s OK to keep a leaf mold pile in a dark corner of the yard, or even under the deck. Water the leaf pile initially, and check it every few months to ensure it isn’t drying out.

Microorganisms can take as long as two years to completely break a large leaf pile down into humus, but if the gardener starts a new pile each fall, he can guarantee a constant supply of this spongy material. Gardeners can use leaf mold in the garden the same way they use compost: as a soil amendment, potting soil ingredient, or as part of a mix to start seedlings.

Source:

Washington State University Extension