Use Autumn's Fallen Leaves to Get Nutrient Rich Soil

Autumn is one of the most beautiful times of year with the trees cloaked in red, orange, yellow, and burgundy in every hue. Unfortunately, all of those gorgeous leaves from our favorite deciduous trees will soon be all over our yards. Instead of seeing all of those fallen leaves as a dreaded chore, we should see them as assets. They are nutrient rich and good for our soil. We should put them to work for us instead of against us.

Leaves and fallen debris on the ground in woodlands and forests is the reason for the nutrient rich soil found there. I live in a somewhat typical suburban neighborhood. The exception being this neighborhood was built in woodlands instead of farm pastures. Land developers do what they must and large areas were cleared for homes. One of the reasons we chose this neighborhood is because it still has large wooded areas. They also left large wooded common grounds that cannot be developed. The first half of the yards were bulldozed and cleared of most trees along with the nutrient rich soil. The developers then brought in useless clay topsoil to replace what had been lost. I am accustomed to dealing with clay soil, which is the dominant soil in Tennessee. But all I have to do is to take that short walk to the back of our tree-filled lot, and the soil is dark and nutrient rich on the surface. That is exactly what composted leaves will do for the soil in our lawns and gardens over time.

One way to make use of the abundance of fallen leaves is to use a mulching lawn mower. The nutrient rich shredded leaves are good for our lawns. Piles of whole leaves left to decompose in their own time can cause problems. They can become thick heavy layers when they get wet, then the leaves can be suffocating to grasses and other plants. It just takes an inexpensive lawn mower to shred the fallen leaves and to add nutrients to the soil under the lawn. A mulching blade comes standard on many average priced push mowers. This really is a great way to get nutrient rich soil under your lawn and dispose of the leaves at the same time.

If you don't want them on the lawn, then you will probably still want to rake or blow the leaves. You can still put them to excellent use in your gardens as compost or mulch. The leaves will still have to be shredded if used as mulch. They will then decompose and enrich your garden soil in that manner. The shredded leaves can still be mixed or covered with decorative mulch while they are decomposing and enriching the soil.

Compost is an excellent way to use the fallen leaves. Good compost needs "green" material such as kitchen scraps (no meat or meat by-products) and "brown" material. The brown material can include straw, dead plants and leaves. To start a compost bin you can use brown leaves and then mix in coffee grounds, egg shells, tea bags, fruit and vegetable scraps. There are many compost bins available to purchase, but that's not necessary. Any form will suffice as long as you can reach the pile to turn the contents periodically to help the decomposition. The compost pile will also need to get at least five hours of sun daily to help the "cooking" process. It's best to try to add both green and brown materials to keep the composting process going. After a few months, the materials break down into a nutrient rich additive for the garden.

The easiest way to use those fallen tree leaves is to make leaf mold. It is the dark, nutrient rich brown material left behind naturally in the woodlands and forest's floors. It is simply rotted leaves without the fuss required for compost. Making nutrient rich leaf mold just requires a place to put the leaves and wet them down. They can be put in a wire mesh bin just as compost, or just put them in any out-of-the-way spot. The leaves can be shredded if you prefer to speed up the process. You can also place them in lawn bags and let them become nutrient rich leaf mold in that way. Pack the bags as full as possible and wet them thoroughly. Close the bags and poke a few holes in them and place the bags somewhere that will not be bothersome. The amount of time required will depend on the climate. The leaf mold will be a healthy additive to the soil you use for planting and gardening just in the same ways as compost. Autumn's leaves are going to fall and we may as well look for the benefits. Those masses of fallen leaves really can be a simple way to get nutrient rich soil with minimal effort.