Mulch in the garden is super useful and has several benefits. What’s even better is that there is free mulch every single fall. Leaves! Keep reading to find out how to mulch with leaves!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely muttered some not very nice things about neighbors and landscape companies who come out with leaf blowers first thing in the morning and run those noisy contraptions at what feels like the crack of dawn. Plus, now there are leaves all over the place except whatever bit of land they were supposed to be leaf blowing. Um, hello?
3 Ways To Mulch With Leaves
Thankfully, there are much less obnoxious ways to deal with fall leaves. Or spring leaves if you’re in Texas or California. Either way, those leaves on the ground are actually pretty useful. Those leaves provide homes for beneficial insects and they are beneficial for the soil. If you want the benefits of leaves in your yard, here are a few options for you.
Shred Your Leaves
First, you could rake them all up into a trashcan, then run your weedwhacker in the trash can to shred the leaves. Those shredded leaves no longer have beneficial insects, (um, whoops?), but they will break down quickly and are now perfect to use around more sensitive plants such as garden vegetables.
Mulching in vegetable gardens helps decrease weeds and it also holds in moisture. As the leaves break down they also provide nutrients and organic matter to the soil.
Even easier than this would just mow over them in your lawn and let them break down in place. This is actually what I do the most frequently because time. Time is a beast that never stops. We always mow without a bag anyway, so it literally takes zero extra effort and our poor stressed Texas grass appreciates the support.
Compost Your Leaves
Second, you could pile shredded leaves up and add them to your compost bin. They will break down rather quickly and help the other higher nitrogen items in your compost.
If you’d really rather not bother you can also gather them all up in a big compost bin of just leaves and leave them to make leaf mold. Keep it damp, and it will eventually break down, although not as quickly as the shredded variety.
Another way to compost those leaves down would be to put them into your chicken coop as bedding. That will compost them down decently fast! Once they’re nice and cooked, into the garden they go!
Leave the Leaves!
And of course there’s no rule saying you have to go dragging and chopping leaves all over the yard. It’s perfectly acceptable to rake them off paths where they could cause slip hazards and gather them around the base of trees, shrubs, or into established garden beds.
If the layer is less than two inches thick they will be perfectly fine and happy breaking down right there in your yard. Obviously, if you live in an HOA you should follow any applicable guidelines move. (Just kidding! Your housing preferences are none of my business!)
Mulching with leaves is a great option for many gardens, and there are several ways to choose from. Which method of mulching with leaves works best for you? Share in the comments!
Sources:
Feathers In The Woods: Uses For Fallen Leaves
Crop and Soil Sciences, M.S.U. EFFECT OF MULCHING TREE LEAVES INTO TURFGRASS
International Society of Arboriculture: Organic Mulches Affect Soil and Leaf Nutrient Levels of Young Pecan Trees
AP News: There’s a movement to ‘leave the leaves’ in gardens and lawns. Should you do it?
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