Then let the compost sit all winter, turning the pile occasionally to aerate it. If the compost pile starts to appear dry, spray it down with a garden hose and turn with pitch fork. The “green” feeds the bacteria that will be doing all the work of breaking down the leaves. Layer three or four inches of old leaves with an inch of fresh grass clippings or other green, leafy yard waste. Layer these carbon-rich “brown” leaves with high-nitrogen “green” material such a grass clippings, dead plant matter, and kitchen scraps. To speed up composition, shred those leaves with a mulching lawnmower (or use a chipper or leaf shredder). Ideally, keep leaves from blowing away with chicken wire or some type of structure. Pile autumn leaves in the corner of your yard. Make compost for a valuable soil amendment. If you are not already composting, now is a good time to start. Hang around to the end for a great way to supercharge all the leaves you do rake up! Join Ben and his furry friend who shows us all the ways to use fallen leaves in the yard and garden, putting all their goodness to use around the garden, from protecting plants to making leaf mold and mulching. Note: If you add shredded leaves right to the soil, add some slow-release nitrogen fertilizers to help the leaves decompose and to ensure that soil microbes don’t use all of the available nitrogen. Next spring, your soil will be teeming with earthworms and other beneficial organisms. Mix shredded leaves right into your garden. Here’s how to use those fall leaves to feed your soil instead of stuffing nature’s leaves into plastic garbage bags to be dumped by the millions into landfills. Note: If you do not have a yard of leaves: Many communities make compost from the leaves that residents drop off at dumps and transfer stations the larger towns and cities hold leaf- and yard-waste collections! I’ve just finished spreading a pickup load of my town’s leaf compost in my vegetable garden. No organic gardener should pass up this annual opportunity. They are a fabulous source of carbon to balance the nitrogen in your compost pile.They make an attractive mulch in the flower garden.Leaves increase the moisture retention of dry, sandy soils.They feed earthworms and beneficial microbes.Leaf humus can lighten heavy clay soils. The huge amount of organic matter they offer can be used to improve soil structure. Pound for pound, leaves contain twice the mineral content of manure. The leaves of one large tree can be worth as much as $50 worth of plant food and humus. Leaves are a rich source of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and more. The trees have mined minerals from deep in the subsoil and bought them to the surface. What amazing organic matter! And free, too. Yes, LEAVES are this season’s most abundant crop. How to Mulch Your Garden | Types of Mulch
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