How to use autumn leaves in the garden
Instead of binning the fallen leaves you’ve raked up in your garden, Better Homes and Gardens’ resident landscaper, Jason Hodges, suggests a couple of great ideas to make those autumn leaves work for your garden.
For some, autumn is a welcome change when the nights get cooler and the days shorter. For others, it’s just the beginning of cold weather and rugging-up until summer returns. The reasons are the same, but the attitude is different.
It’s the same in the garden. Some people see autumn leaves on the ground and curse them; others see opportunity, free soil, mulch, compost and fun.
It’s a weekly ritual for most gardeners to rake up the fallen leaves, repeated week after week until spring comes around again.
But don’t bin them, you can make them work for your garden. It’s easier than taking the bin out, costs nothing and the rewards for you, your garden and the environment are many.
Autumn leaves, especially those that have been chopped and shredded by your mower, are an amazing base for your compost bin. You can have as much as 70 per cent dry leaves in your compost and the grass you pick up with it could be the other 30 per cent.
Leaves are a great source of carbon, which is vital for a successful compost. Just pile it up now and turn it over every week or so and come spring you’ll have sweet compost to mix into your garden that’s weed- free and full of nutrients.
If you don’t have a compost system you can simply rake them into the garden and cover them with garden soil. I like doing this with the help of blood and bone or Dynamic Lifter. It’s a great way to improve large amounts of garden for very little money, and what I recommend to those who have heavy clay soils or lots of rubble in the garden.
The leaves break down and in less than a year you will have worms and soil that would make a good veggie patch or somewhere for annuals.
If you can shred the leaves so they don’t blow around they make great mulch; a layer of around 50 to 70 millimetres will reduce temperature change in the soil, help retain moisture and reduce weeds. They are already brown, so will not draw nitrogen from the soil like fresh grass clippings.
The leaf litter is one of my favourite mulches as it breaks down and improves the soil. Worms love munching on it and you end up with a lighter, more fertile soil that is easier to work with.
It’s even worth keeping some in bags dry for later in the year. When spring and summer are here it’s hard to find enough dry, brown matter to add to the compost. Having some stashed away to add to the pile when everything is green and growing is a master stroke.
Keeping your compost growing isn’t as silly as it sounds. You can always rake leaves up and cover the kids with them, too.
Autumn leaves are a gift from nature. Whether you curse them and put them in the bin, or use them to improve your garden, like death and taxes you can’t a void them. Once you’ve realised the added value of fallen leaves you’ll be coveting those of your neighbours.
Written by Jason Hodges. First appeared on Domain.com.au.
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