Leaves are a natural part of life for any homesteader with trees nearby, but have you ever considered how they can benefit your garden?
While most people think about leaves only in the fall, they can actually serve a useful purpose in your garden all year long. If you’re wondering how leaves can enhance your garden during the growing season, you’re in the right place.
Let’s explore several ways leaves can help your garden thrive, from boosting growth to providing protection throughout the season, and even when it’s time to prepare your garden for the cooler months.
Here’s what every gardener should know about using leaves:
A Few Quick Facts
Not all leaves are created equal. The best leaves for your garden are those rich in calcium and nitrogen.
However, some leaves, like those from holly, oak, and beech trees, are lower in these nutrients and aren’t ideal for composting. Additionally, avoid using black walnut leaves in your compost or around crops, as they contain natural herbicides that can hinder plant growth.
You’ll also need to decide whether to shred your leaves or leave them whole. For uses like mulching, composting, or insulating, whole leaves work just fine. But if you want them to break down more quickly, shredding is the way to go.
Uses for Fall Leaves in Your Garden
1. Snuggie for Plants
You may not remember those adorable infomercials when people would be wrapped up in blankets they could wear.
They were referred to as a Snuggie. Leaves can be a natural ‘snuggie’ to some of your plants. When cool weather moves in, pile leaves around them for insulation and warmth during the colder months.
This works especially well with tender plants and perennials. You can also place wire around the plants and fill it with leaves to make sure the insulation stays in place all winter.
2. Compost Them
If you enjoy making your own compost, you’re probably aware many of the items we regularly discard are great for composting.
Leaves are no different. They’re a wonderful addition to your compost pile because they help balance out the nitrogen with the carbon.
Homemade compost is not only great for your plants, but it can also make gardening on a budget feasible.
3. Toss Leaves in the Soil
Are you trying to amend your soil and make it a healthier space for your plants to grow? Adding leaves to it can be a great help.
Besides the nitrogen and calcium it can bring to your garden, it also attracts the right bugs to your garden.
Worms love leaves, and it’s common to see more earth worms in your garden after adding a layer of leaves the season before. The worms will make your soil rich and fluffy.
4. Mold, Anyone?
Leaf mold is an item many gardeners are starting to make because it’s easy, inexpensive, and is great for your plants.
It’s made by piling up your leaves and allowing them to break down over a few years. The leaves will mat together and form mold as they compost.
This will retain water and works similarly to peat moss. If you’re looking for an inexpensive DIY option to peat moss, this could be what you need.
5. A Leaf Dryer
When the winter passes, your compost may be drenched and soggy from all the moisture absorbed from the elements.
You could wait it out, or you could be proactive and toss dry leaves into the mix. The leaves will absorb the moisture.
This allows the compost to dry out and be ready to use in your spring garden much faster than it normally would.
6. Mow Them Down
Who says you have to rake all your leaves? It’s a never-ending task and one which can grow quite annoying and frustrating.
Instead, use your lawnmower and mow those bad boys down. Feel the wind blow through your hair as you enjoy the freedom of knowing you don’t have to go over those rebellious leaves with a rake.
By chopping them up with a lawnmower they’re helping your soil. They’ll decompose to make a healthier lawn and stop weeds from sprouting in your yard.
7. Veggie Rings
If you want to give your crops a great start, consider making rings to go around the plants. This works particularly well with squash plants.
I’ve found the healthier the plant, the harder it is for pests to take them down. This ring will improve their health by providing necessary nutrients.
Place chicken wire around where you want the plant to grow.
Fill it with leaves and a layer of soil to keep the leaves in place. The next season, plant your crop inside the ring. This should give your plant a healthy start and should cut down on the need to pull weeds or water the plants as much.
8. Grow Your Own Worms
Raising your own earthworms is a great way to improve the quality of your soil because you can place them in your garden.
Yet, it’s also a great way to make an extra income right at home. People use worms in their garden, but they also use for fishing too.
Plus, earthworms make a wonderful snack and boost of protein for your chickens. There’s a variety of benefits to raising them, and you can accomplish this by incorporating the leaves as bedding in your set-up.
9. Prepare for the Growing Season
If you know where you’ll garden each year, you must use your leaves in the garden prior to planting each year.
You can save them in the fall and add them to the garden in the spring. By adding them right before planting, they help provide a barrier for soil-borne sickness for your plants.
Plus, the leaves help suppress weeds and retain moisture which ensures the crops get the appropriate amount of water.
10. Weed Barrier
Many people look at leaves as a nuisance, but in reality, they can be a great friend to a gardener. If you have an area in your garden which gets consumed with weeds, you should consider tossing leaves onto it.
Where leaves will clump together if left whole, it makes it difficult for unwanted items to sprout through it.
This would be a time where you’d want to skip the extra work of shredding and toss your large pile of leaves onto this area. It’s a good idea to wet them after adding them to the area to weigh them down.
11. Root Veggie Storage
Do you have a root cellar? If you don’t or if it’s full, you may prefer to keep your root vegetables in the ground over the winter months.
As long as you mark where they’re planted, this should work. It’s vital to mark them to be able to locate them during a large snow storm.
Once they’re ready to harvest, top them with a thick layer of mulch to insulate them. Harvest the root veggies when you’re ready to use them. The cooler weather should add a sweeter flavor to some of the veggies too.
12. Mulching
Whether you’re mulching plants in your garden or the shrubs in your landscape, you don’t have to spend a fortune on store-bought mulch.
Instead, save your leaves, and apply them around your crops and other plants. As mentioned above, leaves are great for knocking out weeds and retaining moisture.
Plus, when shredded, they can add to the overall look of your property. You’ll be glad you used them instead of creating a burn pile out of them.
Those are the twelve ways leaves can be used around your property instead of discarded. They’re a useful item and a great help to most gardeners.
Hopefully you’ll give these ideas a try and save yourself money while also boosting the health of your garden.
