Autumn leave make a valuable soil amendment , but they have lots of other uses too .
Victoria Pearson
bulge fall leaves in autumn and throwing them in the trumpery creates a lot of unnecessary waste , but it also channels energyawayfrom your garden that could be used to make your plants grow better . jam with carbon and other nutrients , chopped fall leaves make a worthful mulch and compost ingredient , but they can be used in other way too . Toinspire your drop cleaning , here are 15 easy way to repurpose autumn leaf that will save you money , reduce permissive waste , andmake your garden that much greener .
Credit:Victoria Pearson
1. Add to compost.
The fastest way to get rid of passel of autumn leafage is tothrow them in your compost pile . Leaves serve as a carbon paper source in composting , so they ’ll need to be blended with plenty of green or nitrogen - rich materials , like grass clippings or kitchen scraps , to ensure they break down tight . Mulching or chopping leaves before compost speed up the composting process too .
2. Make mulch.
Why bribe bagged mulch when you may make your own eco - friendly mulch with fall farewell ? Leaf mulch can be hold to veg garden or ornamental beds and its disconsolate , vulgar color portmanteau right into landscape and looks appealing in container garden as well . To avoid pool water , always chop leaves with a mulcher or themulching adherence on your lawnmowerbefore use them to your garden .
3. Leave them for pollinators.
Many pollinators pass the wintertime hibernating in old plant life material and fallen leaves . But if all those leaves are raked away , it can remove natural sheltering stain and bequeath pollinators unwrap to wintertime ’s chill . If you want tomake your garden more wildlife - friendly , waitress until spring to cleanse the leave out of your flower bed .
4. Craft a bug snug.
To make your garden even more sympathetic to bees , butterflies , and other pollinators , use fall leaves andfallen sticks to craftyour very own bug snuggery . These simple shelters provide winter home ground for hibernate insects and they can be easily made with old garden detritus and a mo of twine . you may even craft microbe snugs into fun figure to supply a bit of whimsy to your garden .
5. Insulate plants.
Some plant , likehydrangeas that bloom on old wood , may need to be wrapped with burlap to protect their ship’s boat bud from winter impairment . But if you want to give these plants even more insulation , you’re able to pack dry fall lead in between tender bush and their burlap wrapping . instal this leafage insulation after the ground stop dead and remove it when temperatures warm in spring to ensure your plants riff out well .
6. Build a hügelkultur garden.
If you ’re dreaming of expanding your garden or adding a new veg bed to your space , considercrafting your own hügelkultur gardenwith fall leave , fallen sticks , and other curtilage waste material . When constitutive material are stack together in a hügel mound , they crack down into a plenteous growing substrate and allow a slow dismission of nutrient to plant theme . For an even light pick , layer autumn leaves , twigs , and compost on top of cardboard and make soil for a new garden using thelasagna gardening technique .
7. Fill in raised beds.
corrupt soil can get pricey fast , specially if you take tofill up a raised garden bottom . But you’re able to lay aside a fate of money by using yard waste , like crepuscule foliage , to fill in the base of raised bed frame and foreshorten the amount of soil you ’ll need to purchase . As the leaves better down , they ’ll move as a slow - release fertilizer and aid your new garden originate even in force .
8. Amend your soil.
Chopped fall leaves can also be mixed directly into garden beds or planters to serve as a dumb - liberation fertilizer . Just be certain to mulch leaves well before conjure up them into your soil and do n’t use too many leaves at once . A 1 in layer of chop leaves conflate into the top 6 to 8 inches of soil should help you avoid drain issues and ensure the leaves become well - incorporate into your garden .
9. Shelter seeds.
Manynative plant life seeds sprout better with cold stratification , which can be accomplished by planting seeds outside in fall . While many nurseryman besprinkle straw over seeds after planting , you could also apply a lean stratum of chop fall leave over your native semen . This will protect the seeds from getting washed away during wintertime and help oneself you achieve a practiced germination pace in fountain .
10. Mow them in.
Leaving thickheaded clumps of leave on your sens through wintertime can cause grass to die back and leave alone you with a patchy lawn in spring . But leaf have a lot of nutrients and they can be transformed into a budget - friendly , natural lawn “ plant food ” if you mulch them . Simply chop the leaves finely with the mulching attachment on your lawnmower so they do n’t felt down , and thenleave the mulched farewell on your lawnto enrich your grease and make your grass raise well .
11. Burn them.
wait until saltation torake leaves out of your garden bedscan benefit pollinators , but morbid and blighter - ridden industrial plant should always be destroy at the remnant of the time of year to keep problems from reoccurring in spring . pathological leaves should never be composted as blighter can often survive the composting process . But you could burn most leaves in a cozy campfire and celebrate the end of the growing time of year with some homemade smores .
12. Use them in a root cellar.
Do youhave a solution cellar ? Many home preservers pack root cellar vegetable off in straw to keep garden truck from produce bruised or damage in depot . But you could also pack your veggies up in dry autumn leaves to keep them fresh !
13. Create leaf mold.
leafage mold and compost are made using a similar appendage ; however , leaf mold is compose strictly of leaves . merely raft leaves up in a jalopy in an underutilized corner of your yard and give up the leafage to course disgrace , or pile the leaves in a compost binful and sour them regularly to help them break down quicker . Once the foliage mold is finish , you canmix it into your garden as a territory amendmentor habituate it as a budget - well-disposed mulch .
14. Feed composting worms.
Composting worms will flow on most organic matter , let in fall leaves . If you keep a louse farm , mix a handful or two of former leaves into your worm bin along with some kitchen scraps and tolerate your composting worms to transform those parting into garden - ready insect castings . afterwards on , you may brew those dirt ball castings in water tomake a swimming flora plant food , also known as “ worm tea . ”
15. Get crafty.
Of naturally , fall foliage can also be used in lot offall - theme DIY projects . While you may have your own canny room to craft with leaves , here are a few sluttish ideas that you may want to try :
