Alert. Fall leaves aren’t just pretty. They also kick butt. These nutrient dense blankets restore garden beds and lawns by smothering pesky weeds and fertilizing soil with a full fall bounty of nutrients. That’s right, these Instagram worthy red, orange, and yellows can make gardening easier for you, while setting your yard up for a show-stopping springtime bloom. Nutrient-dense leaves feed soil microbes (which your soil needs if you want to actually grow anything), promote beneficial insects (think lady bugs, butterflies, and earthworms), and invite birds looking for a winter snack (making them #thankfulgratefulblessed).
Get yourself some leaves! Sweep leaves from your driveway, sidewalk, and street into your yard. You’ll be keeping storm drains clear of debris, which helps prevent neighborhood flooding and keeps stream life happy (AKA alive) too. How great is it when a simple action directly helps the animals in your neighborhood?
Make those beauties work!
- Throw your lawnmower on the mulch setting and mow over the leaves on your lawn. Lush, green fields in the making!
- Spread leaves out over garden beds and around established plants for a great mulch.
- Feeling especially DIY? Mix leaves and grass clippings at a 1:3 ratio and make some powerful compost (thanks to our friends at Garden Hotline for this tip!).
Natural Yard Care can be easy. Using fall leaves as mulch and compost is arguably the easiest way to give your garden the nutrients it needs, while reducing the amount of work required by you.
Want more info?
Tilth Alliance: Fall leaves make great mulch!
Audubon Society: Help birds this winter, go easy on fall yard work
Happy gardening!