Fall Leaves Make a Great Garden Mulch

Don’t bag them and send them to the dump. Put this resource to work for your garden.

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For many , raking leaves is a direful autumn chore . For me , it ’s part of the outgrowth of renewing the grunge in my vegetable garden before putting my them to bed for the winter .

Unlike my neighbour across the street , who start their screaming leaf blowers at the first sign of a littered lawn , I like to wait until all the leaves are down and the garden is clean , which is usually sometime after Halloween . So for several weeks , their lawn are gleaming emerald area , while mine is more , uh , muted .

My equipment is emphatically low technical school : a rake and tarp , maybe a pair of baseball mitt , if it ’s chilly . My approach is this : rake into piles , crease lots onto tarp , drag to garden , and dump , to a deepness of a foot or two . ( I do n’t put leaves on crop that linger , such asBrussels sprouts , kale , andparsley . I but mulch around them . ) I ’ve been using this approaching for eld , and grime is much improve by it .

Trust me : If you are an active gardener , you’re able to easily wield raking .

Boring ? Some would say so . But I work at it for an hour or two at a clip . I do n’t much wish to hike during trace season , so raking is a proficient excuse to be alfresco in crisp and energizing conditions , and my mind is detached to wander where it will . And sometimes I get help .

The leaf make a great mulch , and as they decompose they improve the grain and quality of the grease . In the spring , when I ’ve decide where the beds will be , I just rake them off to the side .

When my veggie gardens are covered , I top off the compost heap with whatever leaves remain . If I do n’t have enough to do that , I just traverse the street , tarpaulin and glance over in hand . The neighbors recollect they are set out a great hatful and are glad to contribute . I ’ve even been experience to beg leaves from complete strangers , then load leafage base into my motorcar before the Ithiel Town gang can collect them .

Once the gardens have been cleaned and mulch and the compost heap is piled high with leaves , let it snow . We ’re ready .

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