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Musings on the Seedier Side

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October 24, 2018 in Composting· Green living· Organic Gardening

10 ways to put those fall leaves to good use & stop wasting them!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I'll make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
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Do you really want to rake the leaves this year? Probably not unless you’re desperate for exercise after your Zumba class got cancelled.

Maybe you are more of a leaf-blower type of person anyhow?

As a side note – don’t you just love watching kids jump in a pile of leaves? Such joy.

But I digress.

Here’s 10 fantastic ways to get those leaves to work for you instead of you doing all the work!

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1.) Mow the leaves and lawn one last time….

This is by far my favorite option which is why it goes first.

Tom borrows our neighbor’s lawn mower for one last late-season mowing. Not only does our lawn look ready for winter but the mower chops up those leaves. Poof. Gone. No need to rake.

Now that fall is here, we set the blades lower than usual so the grass is cut shorter than in summer. After all, the weather is cooler and we are getting more rain. No fear that we’ll kill the lawn.

Cutting the grass a tad shorter also increases air circulation while discouraging fungal diseases. This method works particularly well if your leaves are small or medium-sized.

Similar to grass clippings, chopped leaves decompose quickly and add valuable organic matter with nutrients to the soil. It’s free too, folks!

This reduces the need for fertilizers. If you do notice any clumps of leaves or grass that didn’t get evenly dispersed, you’ll want to spread them out before the snow comes so you don’t kill your lawn.

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2.) Do nothing with your leaves ~ let them be!

Yup. You heard that right. One option is to do absolutely nothing with your leaves. No raking. No leaf-blowing. Why create a problem where there isn’t one?

This is especially true if you live way out in the country with few neighbors. Who cares what happens to the leaves? No one will be bothered by them.

Leaves decompose quickly and feed organic matter to the soil.

But I live in suburbia. When those strong gusts of wind come up, all my leaves head straight to the neighbors fence. Then they would have to deal with them. Not exactly fair.

We love that fence. It blocks a super busy road protecting my kids and pets from harm.

So the “do nothing” isn’t an option for Tom and I but hopefully it’s a choice for you!

Big “green” flag.…if you leave a thick layer of leaves on your lawn, especially large clumpy leaves, they will block sunlight and promote turf grass fungal diseases.

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3.) Rake the leaves over the roots of your trees & shrubs

Ever go on a hike in the woods and look down on the ground? That wonderful black material on the forest floor is called “humus.” Broken down leaves are the ideal form of compost, created to serve the trees.
 
And the best thing you can do for your trees and shrubs is to cover their roots with their own decomposing leaves.
 
The “community of organisms” that evolve in naturally composted plant material are exactly right for the needs of those plants. Local compost for the local plants.
 

This is a great rake at a frugal price if you’re in the market for a new one. 

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4.) Mulch the flower beds

Mulch is spot-on for blocking weeds, retaining soil moisture, and protecting plant roots from rapid temperature changes that can cause heaving or drying out.

Your chopped up leaves are the ideal mulch for all gardens. And it’s free mulch.

It’s best not to mulch around the crowns of plants until the ground has frozen because it can encourage fungal growth (bleh) or invite rodents to nest there. We’ve had a problem with rodents in the past! Bunnies are cute but only up to a point.

As soon as the ground does freeze, spread the leaves around the plants up to 3 inches thick!

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5.) Make a leaf pile and leave it

This option is for the kids, folks!

Don’t hesitate to make a large leaf pile in a convenient spot in your lawn. After all, a leaf pile is basically a compost pile and we love compost!

As long as your pile is strictly leaves (no stinky food compost, please!) it won’t smell or attract rats. And yes, we wrote the books on rats. Holy moly infestation but I’ll save that post for another day.

Cover your pile with a tarp or just let it sit. If you do cover it with a tarp, feel under the pile in a few months and you’ll likely discover heat, even in the midst of winter! This shows that decomposition happens in real life.

One steamy tip? Savvy gardeners place this leaf pile where they desire to create a new garden bed the following year.

Before you cover your leaf pile with a tarp…let the kids jump in it a few times. Okay, maybe a couple of hundred times first!

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6.) Create a leaf pile and cage it

Maybe the leaf pile just isn’t your style. Maybe the grandkids live too far to benefit anyhow.
 
Consider just raking up a pile of leaves and caging it?
 
The cheapest way to do this is to use chicken wire, pallets or boards to enclose your heap of leaves. Kind of like a temporary compost bin.
 
Decomposition works best in a compost bin at least 4-by-4-by-4-by feet. But bigger is always better!
 
If you don’t want to cage your pile, then just throw a tarp over the pile and let it do the decomposition work. You’ll feel the heat under the tarp to know it’s working. 
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7.) Begin full scale composting like a champ

Composting is great for you, the garden and the eco-system. We all win when we compost by keeping scraps that would otherwise end up in landfills.
 
You can make your own bin or purchase one at a decent price. This is the compost bin we use and love! When we did have a rat infestation (long story) the “Rat Man” from the local government agency said this bin saved us from complete and utter disaster!
 
If you choose to make your own, why not build one out of free pallets for a more permanent structure?
 
It will be refreshing to have a universal place to put your veggie and fruit scraps, shredded paper, manure from farm animals, coffee grounds and eggshells.
 
What you never want to do is to add food scraps with meat or fats to your compost bin. You will attract rats and other rodents from miles away!
 
Check the rules of your town or village before creating a compost bin. Better safe than sorry!
 

Tom and I wanted to be able to add lots of food scraps to our bin without any risk of attracting rodents, we got ones with screw-on lids.

 
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8.) Use the leaves for sheet composting in your raised beds or perennial flower beds

Tom and I am passionate about smothering weeds with cardboard. Then we pile roughly 3-5 inches of compost on top allowing it all to break down in the long haul.

It certainly allows us to start the season off right the following year. Weedless. Yay!

One spectacular option for your leaves it to dispose of all your leaves in the garden and cover them with either newspaper or cardboard. You can do this in your raised beds, perennial beds or any garden planted directly in the ground.

Then you layer compost or mulch on top. Not only will the weeds be smothered but you’ll add organic matter back into the soil. Everyone wins.

In spring, the goal is to be able to plant directly in the soil when you turn it under. It’s a good idea to spread tarps over the compost to allow that decomposition to happen even faster.

When those big gust of wind come up in winter it’s smart to lay rocks or bricks at the corner of each tarp to keep them in place until spring.

Quick recap: Layer 1.) Leaves  2.) Cardboard or newspaper 3.) Compost or mulch 4.) A tarp.

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9.) Bag and store your leaves for down the road use

If you aren’t ready to use the leaves just as they are, you can always bag the leaves in sturdy garbage bags and hide them behind a shed or on an unseen side of your house.
 
Poke numerous holes in the bag for aeration or they may get soggy and stinky by spring.
 
In the course of time, magic happens inside those black garbage bags as decomposition takes place. You will eventually have black compost or at least semi-decomposed leaves to turn back into the soil for nourishment.
 
Black compost gold! Tom and I love adding this leaf compost back into our depleted soil.
 
My experience is that is takes at least 2 years for the leaves to fully break down in the garbage bag. Sometimes it even takes a 3 full years for the leaves to fully decompose. But when they do, you’re gonna be thrilled!
 
It you would like to decrease that time span, chop the leaves up with your lawn mower first and then place them in garbage bags for decomposition to occur.
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10.) Kick em to the curb….

If none of the above options are working for you, there’s only one thing to do. Rake or blow those leaves to the curb and let the town deal with them.

To level with you 100%, when my kids see leaves in the street raked by the meticulous homeowner, they are unable to resist temptation and jump in your pile! So I apologize ahead of time.

And for those of you who bag your leaves? Yep. Guilty is charged. Tom and I will haul your bagged leaves away in our mini-van for future use in our garden. So thanks for bagging them for us!

How do you deal with leaves?

Secret Code – apple

213 Comments

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Leigh Ann James says

    October 14, 2020 at 11:29 pm

    I’ve never thought about using the leaves! Excellent idea!

    Reply
    • Christine Kwiat says

      October 17, 2020 at 5:39 am

      We use our leaves for composting too!

      Reply
  2. Belinda Rowden says

    October 14, 2020 at 11:47 pm

    I don’t mind the leaves. Let them lay, I say. Unless you rack them into a pile so you and your grandkids can have a little fun.

    Reply
  3. john carrabino says

    October 14, 2020 at 11:58 pm

    mulch

    Reply
    • Debra Rimmer says

      October 16, 2020 at 3:37 pm

      Love you cotests.

      Reply
  4. Sara crisco says

    October 15, 2020 at 12:50 am

    I use the leaves for mulch in my flower beds and around trees and bushes. And also to play in with the grandkids. There is plenty to go around

    Reply
  5. Estella Osorio says

    October 15, 2020 at 1:04 am

    Very pretty things on the page

    Reply
  6. Mary B says

    October 15, 2020 at 1:20 am

    I grew up with piles of leaves to jump in then a fire and potato’s put in the fire to bake.

    Reply
  7. Christina Gould says

    October 15, 2020 at 1:25 am

    I like just letting the leaves be. It’s much easier. Thanks for posting!

    Reply
  8. Sherry McCarthy says

    October 15, 2020 at 2:20 am

    I leave them, most blow away during windy days.

    Reply
  9. Betsy Pauzauskie says

    October 15, 2020 at 2:49 am

    I enjoyed the article. During fall visits by our grandchildren, we have an area set aside for leaves to jump in, leaf fights, etc. However, we use a chipper shredder for the rest of our leaves; as well as acorns, and sticks with less than a 3″ circumference. While we live in SE Texas, notoriously sandy &/or clayish, we’ve managed to amend the leaves/sticks/acorns into our soil to obtain a nice richness and texture. And, by applying the material as a mulch, the drudgery of weeding has been significantly reduced. (What follows happened last summer, when we cut down an old oak tree. Under a branch I found a copperhead snake, which I killed, then absentmindedly threw in with items needing mulching. As I’d forgotten to remove the snake’s head; and, the fangs’ contained venom, I asked my husband to remove the dead snake from the pile. He didn’t find/notice the snake, nor did I find pieces of it in the fine grindings I worked into the soil later. To my surprise, snakes can be recycled! However, I’ll remember to remove the head of poisonous snakes in the future. And, I don’t kill nonpoisonous snakes, which I adore.)

    Reply
  10. Liz Kilcher says

    October 15, 2020 at 8:25 am

    composting is a good idea

    Reply