How to Make the Best of Fallen Autumn Leaves

Fall is the season of the fallen leaves. It also means that you need to consider how to take care of all the leaves that will normally end up from the branches of your trees on the ground. Sometimes there might be a lot of them, or you could end up with a limited amount due to strong wind for example.

Regardless of how many leaves you need to deal with in your garden care, you might want to consider what to do with them. You may have so far thought of fallen leaves as nothing but nuisance that needs to be taken care of, but there are in fact multiple uses suggested by expert gardeners. Removing fallen leaves from pathways and lawn grass is very important not only because you want to ensure they cause no problem, such as blocking the light or turning into a slippery hazard, but also because they have a number of helpful uses. Here are some of them:

Use leaves for compost – one possible use for fallen leaves is turning them into compost. Moist them properly, but don’t keep them wet too much. Mix into a compost bin with green material and make it a habit to turn the compost pile at least once a month. This will keep air circulating and eventually break down the leaves to black compost. You can use it in your garden care efforts to boost plant growth.

Use leaves on your lawn – should you find leaves on your lawn, don’t bother collecting them. Instead, use your lawnmower and set it on high cutting. Run it over the leaves in order to shred them properly. The small pieces will eventually break down into the lawn, allowing the soil to retain more moisture and keep it healthy throughout the winter.

Use leaves as mulch material – instead of disposing of fallen leaves in the trash, you can collect them and use for mulching. All you have to do is collect and shred them. Place the material around plants, but be mindful not to let the mulch touch plant stems. Mulching is a preferred method by expert gardeners, who recognize a great many benefits – it helps the soil retain moisture and prevents weed growth.

Use leaves for spring and summer compost – in the warm months, it might be difficult for you to find brown compost material. Be smart and collect fallen leaves in fall to use for this purpose. Bag the leaves you collect, and store them in a cool dry place. That way, when spring comes around, you will have a ready supply of brown material for your compost pile.

Each of these uses for fallen leaves can come in handy. It is definitely worth it to consider them all, as that will enable you to take advantage of the high percentage nutrients contained in leaves. Why should you waste such precious resource, when you can use it quite effectively in your gardening efforts?

Rainy Autumn Garden Walk

In the video below I share the beautiful red maple tree and a few other trees that surround my home.  The rain, cooler temperatures, and wind in our forecast means these leaves will be falling to the ground soon.

Like the video?  I’d love to share tips on how to create your own videos so be sure to connect with me if you are interested.

Let’s Connect

Are you enjoying the Autumn color as it falls?  How you shared any tips from the garden or images from Autumn road trips?  I’d love to hear from you so please leave a comment on this post.

Happy Autumn,