Fall Leaves: A Valuable Soil Builder
I’m always confounded when I drive through my neighborhood and see lawn care trucks at homes. The workers are inevitably loading grass clippings or fall leaves onto their trucks, and at the same time applying chemical fertilizers to the lawns. It’s mind boggling that people are paying to remove safe, effective nutrients from their property and replacing it with petroleum based chemicals.
Fall leaves are more than beautiful; they are a valuable soil builder
What are YOU going to do with your fall leaves?
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@ Susan, thank you. That's what I will do.
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Susan, I wholeheartedly agree with you. When we moved here our soil was just Virginia Clay-like dirt. Over the last 11 years, we now have the blackest and richest soil. Just waiving a few leaves out of the way reveals hoards of squirming earthworms. In fact most of the surface dirt that shows looks like black crumbles or black cottage cheese - all worm castings! We have a bit less than an acre on a wooded lot. 11 years ago I bought a CYCLONE RAKE which I attach to my tractor so I can easily pick up, mulch and dump the shredded leaves where I want. In fact, I volunteer to mow 4 other neighbor's yards JUST FOR THEIR LEAVES! I stopped using wood mulch about 10 years ago now especially around the house . Leaf mulch does not encourage termites either...another plus. Cyclone Rakes are rather expensive, but you can buy a stand-up leaf shredder (like a Flowtron) that mulches the leaves as fine or course as you want and it makes gorgeous mulch! My neighbors use wood much each Spring (basically shredded lumber) and within about 6 weeks all the dirt and manure that's mixed in with it filters down into the ground. Not only that, after all the tree blossoms and seed pods fall they are totally visible on the wood mulch which they paid $1500.00+ for! When my blossoms and pods fall, they mix right in and any sprouting maple trees and stuff just get shuffled under when I quickly scratch over them with a leaf rake and mix them in and my mulch still looks like new and I paid NOTHING for it. My yard always looks fresh that way while my neighbors mulch piles get higher and higher and mildew filled. Another plus I forgot to mention was because my garden soil is so rich with earthworms and organic matter from the leaves, everything grows vibrant and HUGE! My basil plant leaves grow so large they can cover your face like a mask if held up to it. So yes, the best kept gardening secret IS composted leaves and leaf mulch!! I am so glad you brought this up since now is leaf season!
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