Put Fall Leaves to Work

Turn autumn leaves into something special by shredding them with the electric Leaf Mulcher.

The close of the gardening season is always bittersweet. Though there are few more beautiful places on earth than Vermont in the autumn, I just hate saying goodbye to all my plants and trading this lush, green world for one that's cold and white.

But there are also plenty of good things about fall. The weather is cool and the humidity is low. Once we've had our first killing frost, the frantic pace of the harvest season is over. It's time for apples and potatoes, pumpkins and mums. And, it's time to reap the season's most abundant crop: leaves.

The longer I garden, the greater my appreciation for the value of organic matter. And one of the very best sources of organic matter is autumn leaves.

How Can Fall Leaves Help Your Garden?

Leaves are packed with trace minerals that trees draw up from deep in the soil. When added to your garden, leaves feed earthworms and beneficial microbes. They lighten heavy soils and help sandy soils retain moisture. They make an attractive mulch in the flower garden. They're a fabulous source of carbon to balance the nitrogen in your compost pile. And they insulate tender plants from cold.

Here are a few easy ways that I've found to put leaves to work in my garden.

Shredded leaves take up much less space.

Shred Up the Leaves

First, shred up as many of them as you can. I don't have a leaf shredder, though I'm considering purchasing one. Instead, I let the leaves pile up on the lawn and then drive over them a few times with the lawn mower. Shredding one leaf into five or ten smaller pieces does several good things. It increases the surface area, giving microbes many more places to work. It prevents the leaves from packing together into layers that won't let water or air penetrate. And it reduces the volume dramatically.

Rake the Leaves Up

Once the leaves are shredded, I rake them up. Most of them go into plastic trash bags that get stashed in the barn for next spring when I'll use them as mulch in my perennial gardens. In time, shredded leaves become something called leaf mold, which makes a fabulous mulch. What's more, it does wonders for the soil, and I like the look of it.

As for the rest of the shredded leaves, some get put aside for a month or so to be used for mulching my garlic, tender perennials and roses. The rest get carted over to the vegetable and cutting gardens.

The beds in these two gardens are permanent, so it's easy to focus all my soil-building energy right in the growing zone. As the beds get cleaned out, I cover the soil with a layer of shredded leaves and fork that in a bit. On top goes some granular organic fertilizer and — if I have any — some compost. By spring it's all a crumbly mix that plants would be crazy not to love.

Gather leaves in half the time with these Giant Hands Leaf Collectors

To mulch the asparagus bed, I first cut the fronds down to about 12 inches. The bed gets a good helping of granular fertilizer and is then covered with a 3-inch layer of shredded leaves.

Not all the leaves in my yard get shredded, though if I had the time I'd probably do so. By November, I've usually run out of steam and simply pack the rest of the whole leaves into my compost bin. I add these leaves to the working compost pile throughout the year to balance the food scraps and other materials that are usually high nitrogen. The leaves also keep the pile from getting compacted and soggy.

For me, keeping busy is the best way to fend off the blues, which is how I sometimes feel as winter approaches. Raking and hauling and digging and spreading keep me moving and my gardens just get better and easier to care for every year.